The Other Parents
by waffleman1314
Summary: Phineas and Ferb have always wondered who their other parents were. Ferb's mom and Phineas' dad remained a mystery to them. But when Perry shows up at their house at the end of the day being followed by a Hellhound, they have to trust Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, at Camp Half-Blood so they can find out their true parentage. AU
1. I Know What We're Gonna Do Today!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phinea's and Ferb**

**Whaddup! Okay, so I'm excited for this! This is the first chapter of a new crossover that AJ is working on! Hope you enjoy it!**

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Danville is an amazing place to live; and I should know- I've lived there for most of my life. In fact, I was born there. Ever since I was a little kid, me, my mom, and my older sister Candace had lived on Maple Drive. When I was about five or so, my mom married my stepfather, Lawrence Fletcher, and that's when I met my stepbrother, Ferb. And me? My name's Phineas. Phineas Flynn.

Ferb and I- we aren't like other kids our age. We build the craziest things in our backyard; roller coasters, shrink rays, teleportation devices, planes- the list goes on and on. Our sister doesn't really like this about us. She's always trying to get us in trouble for stuff like this. I've never been sure why. Her boyfriend, Jeremy, seems to like all of the things we do and she typically just goes with whatever he says.

Anyways, it has forever been a controversy that Ferb and I don't know our "other parent," or, in terms you might better understand, Ferb's mom and my dad. There were never any photos of them for us to remember. Names never came up. Our parents didn't even talk about them. Ever. It was like a forbidden topic that we weren't supposed to pursue or something. Whenever we asked, the answer was always the same; 'Another time, boys, another time.'

We'd spend hours on end discussing who our mystery parents might be. None of our friends, save for the ever-interested Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, saw it as something to be curious about. Both Baljeet, the Indian nerd that helped us with our inventions, and Buford, the bully who followed Baljeet, knew both of their parents. Irving, a kid so obsessed with me and my brother it's creepy, well, we don't even know his parents.

I placed my hands on my hips and smiled wide. Ferb and I had just built the most amazing solar-powered display. It was technically a step down from our usual water slide or time machine, but it was perfect for this evening. The light show would be a drive-through attraction at a theme park, where one could view lighted items of all different kinds without having to walk. Soon, our friends, as well as several others, would be enjoying this ride for free.

"Ferb, nice job with the neon lighting," I gave him a thumbs up. He returned it with his usual unreadable expression. "Have you seen Perry?"

Ferb shook his head. Perry was our pet platypus. He has a strange habit of vanishing in the middle of the day to who knows where. It is a little bit odd, seeing as platypuses don't do much. But we let him do whatever he wants. He always comes back and he's only come back hurt one time. (Somehow, he'd managed to scrape most of his fur off. Mom took him to the vet and he had to wear a cone for the day- I think it looked like a satellite dish. Of course, Perry really hated that thing and ended up knocking himself silly on something and hitting the self-destruct button on our invention that day. We reconsidered the use of self-destruct buttons after that.)

"Hey, Phineas," Isabella walked into the backyard and stood next to me, batting her eyes curiously. "What'cha doin'?"

"We built a neon lights show attraction," I smiled at her.

"Cool," she commented. She usually liked whatever we were doing. "Can I ride in your car?"

"Sure," I nodded. "I'm sure Ferb won't mind an extra person in our car. He doesn't usually mind you being with us. Ferb's cool like that."

"Oh, okay," Isabella said blankly. I found it interesting how she always seemed less enthusiastic when I mentioned including Ferb. What is it she didn't like about Ferb? He's the most interesting person I know. There's no room for dislike where Ferb is concerned.

"Is…something wrong with that?" I asked, suddenly realizing that I might have treaded in dangerous waters by doing so. "I mean, if there isn't that's okay, or if there is you don't have to tell me."

"N-no," Isabella lied. I decided that it wasn't necessary for me to continue on with that conversation. Ferb came up behind me and showed me that Baljeet and Buford had just shown up. Smiling wide, I ran over to greet them with Isabella trailing silently behind me.

"Hey, guys!" I said, waving at them. "You're just in time!"

"For what? Dorks: The Ride?" Buford said flatly.

"Nah, we can do that tomorrow," I waved the comment away. Buford glowered at me. He hated how I could turn anything he said into something positive. "Today, though, we have a neon lights ride! And Ferb and I made cool outfits to wear under the neons so that we look awesome while we do it, too!"

"Hooray!" Baljeet exclaimed. "Neon is my favorite element on the Periodic Table next to the ever-handy hydrogen!"

"You're kidding me, right?" Buford frowned at him.

"No," Baljeet cowered.

"Hmm, neon's my second favorite, too," I encouraged him. "Right after zinc."

"I like uranium, myself," Ferb threw in.

"What about calcium?" Isabella chirped. "It's so useful, and it's in milk and broccoli. And now I'm thinking of cows."

"Broccoli makes you think of cows?" Buford asked, looking confused. "You guys are blowing my mind. Should I get here earlier or something? Did I miss another musical number by Clay Aiken?"

"Nope, I'm pretty sure he hasn't been by today," I shook my head. "You did miss an amazing performance by Bowling for Soup, though."

"That was our theme song, Phineas," Ferb pointed out.

"Oh, right!" I snapped my fingers in realization. "Well, you didn't miss much, then."

"I am tingling with excitement!" Baljeet changed the subject. "When do we get to ride this contraption?"

"Right now!" I told him. Ferb handed out the black suits that were covered with reflectors. "Here, put these on and we can get started!"

"Is this gonna make me look stupid?" Buford demanded.

"No, it's gonna make us look totally awesome!" I insisted. "When you stand under the neon lighting, the reflectors literally make you glow in the dark. Everything inside looks like the suits, except instead of reflector tape, it's neon lights. Suit up everybody!"

The entire gang cheered and they ran inside to change their clothes. Buford took the downstairs bathroom, Isabella took Candace's room, Baljeet claimed the upstairs bathroom, and Ferb and I went into our own room. We were lucky that Candace wasn't inside, because she would probably flip to know that our friend was in her room.

I ran out to the backyard first and waited for everyone else. I couldn't wait to get started with the ride- it was going to be awesome! Today was going to be a great day, and I knew it from the bottom of my heart. What I didn't know was what would happen once we found Perry…**  
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**:O who else is wondering what Phineas means by that last sentence? Well so do I because I don't even know yet! **

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	2. When Perry Got Home

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phinea's and Ferb**

**This chapter is kind of intense! I love it :)**

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Perry scampered into the backyard, and the first thing I thought was the usual; 'Oh, there you are, Perry.' Unfortunately, there wasn't any time for me to say that, because the next thing that happened confused me more than his regular disappearances.

"Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher! We don't have much time!" Perry exclaimed, leaping up onto his hind legs and ran into the house. "Mr. Fletcher! They've been found!"

"I don't know about you, Ferb, but I thought that was strangely out of character," I raised my eyebrows and pointed behind myself at where Perry had run off to.

"Yes, yes it was," Ferb nodded.

"Perry can talk?" Isabella frowned. "Why didn't you tell me you'd taught him how to do that?"

"We didn't," I shrugged. "I didn't even know he could do that!"

I waved at everyone to come inside with us, and they followed without question. It was a weird trait I had; whatever I said, people would just do it, no matter how crazy or abnormal it sounded. When we walked in, I held a hand up and motioned for everyone to remain quiet as we listened in on the conversation Perry was having with my parents.

"This isn't a joke, Mrs. Linda!" Perry gasped, sounding exasperated. "There is a hellhound literally a mile away from here, I have to get them to Percy and Chiron! It's the only way we can protect them! Call up Miss Garcia-Shapiro and tell her, too, there's no time to lose!"

"Are they packed?" my mom asked, sighing.

"Everything will be taken care of by you-know-who!" Perry hissed. "But we really have to go! Do you mind if I borrow your car?"

"Fine! Take it!" mom shoved the keys into his chest. "But you'd better send a letter saying that they're okay!"

"Actually, I was going to ask Iris-"

"Hurry! My sons are in danger!" mom shouted.

"Right, got it," Perry nodded. He ran around the corner. "Phineas! Ferb! Oh, there you guys are. Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella, you have to come with me right now!"

"Can we get an explanation, at least?" I asked.

"Later! There's no time for that!" Perry grabbed Ferb and I by the wrists. "Get in the car, just get in the car! They've found you and I will be dead if you three are dead! C'mon, Isabella, that means you, too!"

He pulled us out to the car and pretty much threw us into our seats. After making sure we were all belted in, Perry cranked up the red sedan and adjusted the seat to better suit him. (Which, ironically enough, was actually a possibility.) Slamming his right foot into the gas pedal, Perry sent the car off with the annoying screech of the rubber tires burning on the pavement.

"When are you going to tell us what's going on?" Isabella whined. Perry ignored her and pressed a button on the radio that turned it into a video screen. An image of a man with white hair and a mustache appeared on the screen.

"Ah, good afternoon, Agent P!" the man said. "Wait, what is going on here?"

"Good afternoon, to you, too, sir, I'm calling in to alert you of something that you should have known when I first joined the agency," Perry filled in. "I was sent to protect demigods in the Tri-State Area about five years ago, after getting on Poseidon's bad side and being transformed into a platypus. It is now fair that you should know I'm returning to my regular duties and sticking with these three."

"That's a lot to take in, don't you think, Agent P?" the man furrowed his unibrow at Perry and hummed to himself. "You honestly think I'm going to believe this demigod nonsense? You revealed yourself to your host family!"

"Major Monogram, sir, I know it's a lot to take in and probably sounds preposterous to you, but it's the truth!" Perry sighed. "Chiron sent me down here, I'll send you an Iris-message from the camp to prove it to you!"

"I still don't believe…" the man stopped in the middle of his sentence. His eyes got real wide and he stared somewhere behind my head. "What in the blazes is that…?!"

Ferb, Isabella, and I all turned to see what the man was talking about when we saw it. A large dog hit the window of the sedan with it's forehead and snarled at us. It was blacker than the inside of our neon-lights ride. Isabella shrieked and grabbed ahold of me, not really caring who it was that she was holding onto, I suppose.

"That, is a hellhound, sir," Perry explained. "I'm not quite sure what you see, because the Mist won't allow you to see what we're seeing, but I'm pretty sure we all see a hellhound in here."

"It looks like a really big bear, to me," a younger man stepped into the camera aside the first man. He had reddish hair and purple glasses.

"Nonsense, Carl!" the first man exclaimed. "You've been reading too much Harry Potter! No, it looks like an enormous rhesus monkey wearing a powdered wig."

"Anyways, sir, I understand completely if you have to fire me or ban me from the agency," Perry said, ignoring the previous comments. "I was expecting a little more time than this. They're only ten; this usually doesn't happen until they're about twelve."

"Yes, I see," the man rubbed his chin a little.

"One more favor, sir, though, before you restrict my usage of the agency's weaponry?" Perry asked, frowning in an almost plea-like manner.

"And that is?"

"Can we use the rocket boosters to safely fly to New York?" Perry requested. "It's life or death, sir, and we need an immediate ride to Long Island. Once we arrive there, you can lock me out of the system completely."

"Will do, Agent P," the man nodded. "I hate to see you go like this."

"Understood, sir," Perry answered. He pressed a few switches on the dashboard and revealed a secret panel. "It was nice to have worked under you. Give Doofenshmirtz my regards, and let poor Terry have my grappling hook; he broke his."

"Goodbye, Agent P," the man saluted him. Perry saluted back politely, and the video screen faded to black. Swallowing hard, Perry tried his best to focus on the task at hand. He pressed a few switches and turned a few dials.

"We have a lot to catch up on," Ferb whispered to me.

"Alright, hold on, guys, we're about to take a ride through the wild blue yonder!" Perry exclaimed. "Zeus, please don't kill me!"

Perry slammed his left fist into one of the buttons and the car lurched upward violently. Isabella almost immediately began to shriek and holler again, once again wrapping her arms around me out of pure terror. When I looked back behind us, all I could see was the smoke pouring out of the back of our sedan. Ferb was, of course, as stoic as usual. I certainly respected his ability to remain calm, and most definitely preferred it to Isabella's freaking out. But I'm not one to judge. Everyone's scared of something. Personally, I'm terrified of peacocks. I can't really explain that, though.

After being shot upwards at such an alarming speed, the car leveled out in the sky and few with the ease of a small plane. I took note of the wings protruding from each side and wondered how we didn't know about these special functions before. Perry began to press more buttons on the panel to bring up a GPS on the screen where he'd talked to his boss. He set the car to autopilot and told it to fly straight to Long Island, New York, then turned and faced the three of us.

"So, now I can answer questions," he sighed.

"Is it safe to open my eyes now?" Isabella whispered, her lip quivering a bit.

"Yes, you can," Perry nodded. "And you can let go of poor Phineas; you're cutting off the circulation in his arm."

"Oh," Isabella blushed. She gently pulled herself away from me and smiled nervously.

"So, why did you just up and take us from the house?" I asked. "Dinner was in, like, an hour! And Mom was going to make fried chicken! So why did we have to leave?"

"Look, as much as I would have loved for you to get your fired chicken," Perry rolled his eyes, trying not to let in that he was being sarcastic. "You weren't safe there and never will be again. That hellhound you saw? That's just the beginning."

"The beginning of what?" Isabella said quietly.

"Monsters of all sorts will find you," Perry told us. "Hellhounds, minotaurs, hydras, furies- you name it! They can smell your blood because it's stronger than a normal human's blood."

"So, we're…not…normal?" I tilted my head.

"No, Phineas, we're not," Perry shook his head. "This is about the single parents you never knew. Like I told Monogram, we're demigods. Half-human, half-god. We aren't like regular humans at all."

"Wait, you're a demigod, too?" Isabella looked at him skeptically.

"Yup," Perry half-smiled. "Son of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy."

"And you're a platypus, because…?" I asked, trailing off a little.

"Well, if you pick on enough cyclopses, payback comes your way," Perry grinned. "Athena and Poseidon hate each other, so naturally if I'm picking on his cyclops kids, I get a worse punishment than a son of Hermes. Poseidon didn't want to be too cruel and make me a fish, so, alas, I am a monotreme."

"Do you know who our parents are?" Ferb spoke up.

"Unfortunately not," Perry frowned. "So far, you haven't been claimed."

"Claimed?" Isabella asked.

"Yeah, if your god, or goddess, parent wants to openly say that you're theirs, then they'll send a sign to let you know. I was claimed when I was six."

"Does that mean…?" I started, but thought I'd better not ask. He could be older than I was thinking.

"I haven't seen my father since. It's been thirteen years since I've seen him," Perry filled in my silence for me. It was a nice change of topic, I guess.

"That would make you twenty-one!" Isabella gasped. "You're older than Candace! And all this time…I thought you were a baby."

"Wow," I breathed. "So, if you're not really a platypus, and you're not really our pet, is your real name Perry?"

"Yes and no," Perry waved his hand a little. "My birth name is, yes, Perry. How you guys ended up wanting to call me Perry, well, that is mere coincidence. My mom, however, prefers to call me Pericles."

"Nice," I grinned.

"Pericles was the name of a great Greek warrior," Ferb informed us. "He lived around the same time as Pythagoras, Sophocles, and Phidias."

"One of my half-sisters will love you," Perry chuckled. "She's pretty smart and knows a lot about Greek history, the gods included, of course."

"Where are we headed to, anyways?" Isabella interrupted. "Besides Long Island?"

"Ah, there's the question I was looking for!" Perry said excitedly. "I'm taking you to Camp Half-Blood. It's a place where we're safe from monsters in the outside world and where we can feel at home in a natural, demigod friendly environment."

"Will Baljeet, Buford, and Candace be able to visit us?" Isabella continued.

"You forgot about Irving," I pointed out.

"Oh, no, I didn't forget," Isabella said hurriedly.

"No, I'm afraid not," Perry shook his heads. "And neither can our human parents. Mortals aren't able to access the camp. It's for their own good, though, trust me. It's much better that they stay away from you now."

The car fell silent. I knew everyone must be thinking the same thing I was; we were never going to see them again. My mom, Ferb's dad, Isabella's mom, our friends; they were all just memories now. Perry turned back around and scratched the back of his head nervously; I could only assume he'd noticed that he'd hit a soft spot in the conversation. It dawned upon me that's why he had told us about his father- so it wasn't a huge shocker later on when someone asked about it and so we'd understand he felt our pain.

No one said anything for a long while after that. Ferb had fallen asleep sitting up. Isabella was staring blankly out of the window and occasionally she would turn her head to see what I was doing, only to find me staring back. Perry had curled up into a tight ball and was snoring gently in the driver's seat. I watched him breath for a moment- the slow rise and fall of his chest was kind of hypnotic. It was hard to imagine him once being human.

A light started to blink on the dashboard. I wanted to wake Perry up and tell him, but it might've just been the computer sleeping. However, when an alarm started going off, I felt myself beginning to panic involuntarily. Perry's eyes flickered open and he jumped up to check what the sound was. His pupils constricted in slight fear. He turned around and started shouting at us.

"Wake up!" Perry yelled a Ferb. "Make sure your seat belts are on, and lock your arms with the person next to you!"

"What's wrong?" Isabella frowned.

"TORNADO!" Perry screamed, buckling himself down and shutting off the autopilot. "Did I tell you guys that I'm on bad terms with the Anemoi and flying isn't our best option?"

He looked back at us with a sheepish grin on his face, and based on the way it melted, I was certain our faces looked about a thousand times worse. I know mine must have, at least. Whatever these Anemoi were, that couldn't be good at all.

"THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO KNOW, PERRY, YES!" I shouted at him over the wind. It sounded much like an oncoming train. Gray clouds swirled around us violently, shaking the frame of the car. Isabella's screaming was barely audible. She dug her fingernails into my hand, breaking the skin and drawing a little blood, but I just let her. I was probably doing the same to her and Ferb's hands, too, anyways.

"I'M SORRY!" Perry yelled back. "SOMETIMES I DON'T THINK BEFORE I ACT! LIKE WHEN I ATE PUDDING CUPS BEFORE SALSA AND INSTANTLY REGRETTED EATING THEM IN THAT ORDER!"

"WHAT?!" I yelled back, confused at his statement.

"FORGIVE ME FOR THE PUDDING THING, MOTHER, IT WASN'T VERY WISE!" Perry cried. "IT WAS OUT OF IMPULSE, I WASN'T USING MY HEAD! PLEASE, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

"He's lost his marbles…" Ferb stared blankly at the back of Perry's head.

"No kidding," I said back.

Darkness covered the car, and all of us began to scream out in fear. The glass windows shattered inward, spraying tiny bits of glass all over us. Shards were sticking our skin, like thousands of tiny needles pricking us repeatedly. My hair and clothes whipped around wildly, so much so that my skin started to sting from being hit so hard. From what I could see, Perry had blacked out or been knocked unconscious.

Someone, or rather, something, was shouting at us in words we couldn't understand. I strained my eyes to see what was going on, but it was all too dark for me. The car jolted to the side, as if something large had hit it, and my head was slammed forward into the unit between the front seats. My vision went black, and I the last thing I heard sent chills down my spine.

"YOU SHALL NOT ESCAPE THE WRATH OF LORD AEOLUS, PERICLES, SON OF ATHENA!"

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**It just got real...**

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	3. Aeolus and the Platypus

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phinea's and Ferb**

**:O battle time! **

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When I opened my eyes, I was sad to realize we were still in the car. However, my mood was lightened by my realization that we were all still alive. Isabella was shaking Ferb back and forth. I put my hand in front of her and stopped her. She blinked and let go, letting poor Ferb fall back into his seat. Ferb put one thumb up to let us know he was okay, and then pointed out of the window. We saw Perry standing next to a really tall guy. Well, he looked tall when standing next to Perry.

"Don't you remember! I gave you a warrant saying the next time I caught you flying through the skies, I would kill you!" the tall man said. "For a son of Athena, you certainly don't have your mother's common sense!"

"Please, lord Aeolus, I was just trying to get back to Camp Half-Blood!" Perry whined. Aeolus simply huffed. "I'll do anything! I swear!"

"What I want, is you to be dead," Aeolus said sarcastically. "Your little friends can get to Long Island by themselves."

"I still don't understand what I did wrong!" Perry countered. "I don't see how snowballing Zephyrus, mooning Boreas, asking Notus where my pants had went, or chasing Eurus gleefully could get me a permanent ban from the sky!"

"You just don't get it, do you, Pericles?!" Aeolus clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "You were disrupting the four winds! Nothing aggravates me more than when their disruption causes the storms that I am meant to create!"

"I swear I won't disrupt your guys again, just let me get those three to Camp Half-Blood!" Perry dropped to his knees and begged. Aeolus looked over at us, and we lowered our heads slightly, genuinely hoping that Perry didn't just cause us our doom. He walked over to the edge of the car and stared down at us.

"Get out of there!" he barked. He didn't have to tell us twice; Ferb and I leapt out of one window and Isabella gently hopped out of the other. Perry looked at us apologetically and shrugged. I frowned at him.

"Isn't there anything I can do?" Perry's eyes flicked back to meet Aeolus'.

"Well, I suppose there is one thing you could do," Aeolus waved his head in thought. "But it's a silly prospect. You're two feet tall and hardly a decent demigod. And it certainly isn't your mother's fault."

"What did you have in mind?" Perry asked, forcing himself to ignore the insult made about his mortal father.

"A duel," Aeolus grinned. "Between you and one of my sons, who's here on business."

"What?!" Perry's mouth dropped open. "That's dangerous and you know it! What mindless fool…"

I jumped up and quickly cupped a hand over Perry's mouth, not wanting to hear what else he had to say. Aeolus simply laughed at him and told us to wait right there. He turned on his heel and swept himself up in a wind, disappearing into the sky. Perry grabbed my hand and jerked it off of his mouth.

"Were you trying to get him angry?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"Maybe!" Perry spat. "He's such a stuck-up snob…"

"Yeah, okay, so even if that is true, which I'm not saying it is, why would you tell a god that to his face?" I continued. "He could just take you out right then and there! Don't you value your life at all?"

"That depends- will there be cake in the Underworld?" Perry crossed his arms.

"I never knew you were such a smart-aleck," I rolled my eyes. "And how should I know? I've never been to the Underworld. It's not like it's my summer home or something. I've known about this Greek stuff for only a few hours, buddy, think!"

"Well, either way, I'm stuck fighting a son of Aeolus," Perry grumbled. "At least I have logic- his kids rarely do."

"What was that, Pericles?" Aeolus reformed before us with a much larger boy. "I'd like you to meet my son, Stephen Kineheart. He's amazing with a bow and arrow. You should see him shoot an apple off of poor Dionysus' head."

"Mr. D really hates when I do that," Stephen chuckled.

"Ah, a sharpshooter," Perry grinned. "I myself prefer to improvise. This fedora was a present from my mom. It stores endless tools and weapons."

"So you're an Athena brat, eh?" Stephen raised his eyebrows. "It'll be fun crushing your puny self. What did Athena think, making a platypus kid? You look retarded for a demigod! Even a kid of Aphrodite could squish you!"

"You're going to pay for that comment, air-head," Perry growled. He reached in his fedora and pulled out a small sword that worked for his size. Making sure to place the fedora back on his head in the same exact position as it was before, he grabbed the hilt with both hands and charged Stephen with a loud exclamation in Greek. (Ferb said he thought that Perry had yelled 'pudding cups,' but I didn't want to assume anything.)

Stephen pulled a bow off of his back and knocked an arrow, aiming for Perry's temple. I went to scream but Aeolus put a hand over my mouth and told me I wasn't to give him any help. The duel had to be fair. Just as Stephen released his arrow, Perry dodged it by doing a sideways leap and sank his sword into Stephen's left shoulder. Aeolus' son yelped in pain and grabbed his shoulder.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THAT, LITTLE BRAT!" Stephen raged. He knocked another arrow and loosed it before Perry could react. He jumped back a little, but he was too late; the arrow punctured the soft skin of his underbelly and drove upwards into his ribs. Perry dropped to his knees and clenched his teeth.

"PERRY!" I exclaimed. Surely Aeolus wouldn't let him die?

"Any last words, Athena scum?" Stephen aimed an arrow straight at Perry's temple and grinned, making sure the head of the arrow was pinching the thin flesh enough to puncture it. Perry squinted up at him and laughed weakly.

"You misjudge me," Perry said, shoving his sword into Stephen's gut. The boy's face went white and he fell over with a soft thud.

Aeolus gasped and ran over to his son. He shot an angry look at Perry, but then looked at us and frowned. He healed his son and walked over to us, towering above us like a lamp post. I swallowed hard and tried not to look him directly in the eyes.

"So, you have won my challenge," Aeolus said quietly. "I grant you permissions to go back to Camp Half-Blood through the skies. But i won't heal him. If you think I'm being unfair, think again, small demigods. He deserves a slow painful death and to be thrown in the pits of Tartarus."

Perry closed his eyes and fell forward on his stomach. I quickly grabbed him up and pulled him into the car with us. Ferb hopped in the front seat and began to fiddle with the controls until the car's engined roared to life. Isabella hopped up beside me and started stroking Perry's side gently.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked, knowing none of us could really give a perfect answer.

"I'm not sure," Isabella sighed. "The arrow entered his flesh at the base of his stomach and sank in upwards, far enough to reach his ribs and at an angle that could have punctured his lung."

"He's unconscious…" I murmured.

"Yes, probably from physical shock," Isabella nodded. "He's also been cut in the temple, where a major artery is."

She ripped off her sleeve and held it to the side of Perry's head. The white fabric began to slowly fade to red as his blood soaked up the dry fibers. It was clear that they'd need more than just Isabella's shirt sleeves to staunch the blood flow, so I pulled off my shirt and ripped off pieces for her to use as bandage.

"Do we have any clue where this camp is?" Isabella asked, still working to wrap Perry's head.

"Well, Perry did say it was somewhere on Long Island," Ferb shrugged. "That's where I've got us headed."

"Great," I said. "We'll need their help to help Perry recover."

"If he can recover," Isabella frowned. "He's pretty bad off."

"We're betting a lot on Perry's survival, then," I said sadly.

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**Poor Perry...but on a different note, who else loves the Percy Jackson series?**

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	4. Whispers in the Night

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phinea's and Ferb**

**We namin chapters now! That was random and I have school today...**

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I held Perry in my lap gently, stroking his forehead with my right hand. It was really killing me to see him in such a state. Even if Aeolus was the god of storms, I felt he had no right to mistreat Perry theway he had. Lucky for Perry, he had a slight chance. Isabella's Emergency Care patch came in handy, and she'd slowed the blood flow from his wounds. Perry's body hung limp over my left arm; the only movement he had was his chest rising and falling.

"He's breathing again," I whispered. Isabella slid herself closer to me. "It's hurting him, though. See how his stomach muscles tighten between breaths?"

"Yeah, I don't blame him," Isabella nodded. "The arrow probably sliced right through his diaphragm. I'm pretty sure his lungs are okay; if they weren't he'd be coughing up blood and phlegm."

"I just can't believe he used to be a human," I cradled his head slowly. "I wonder what he used to look like…"

"For some reason I can picture a blond-haired, blue-eyed, skinny tall guy," Isabella laughed quietly. "And I get the vibe that he was something of a jerk, too. No offense, Phineas, but I think he's somewhat a smart-aleck."

"Oh, Perry," I chuckled. "Hmm, blond hair, maybe, but perhaps green eyes. And, yeah, I agree with the skinny, but I'd say he was probably short. Even if he was a jerk, there had to be a reason for that. I mean, he barely knew his dad. He could easily be trying to get attention from someone. I wonder if he had a girlfriend…"

"A girlfriend…" Isabella side. "For his sake, if he did, I hope she'll take him back like this. And I also hope a certain someone else will take me."

"You have a crush?" I looked up at her, thrown off by her revelation.

"Y-yes," she blushed.

"It's too bad we had to leave Danville forever," I frowned. "Who knows, maybe he's a demigod too, and he'll show up at Camp Half-Blood not too long after we do."

"Yeah…" Isabella trailed off. She looked slightly perturbed at my response. Perhaps I'd been too curt with it. I decided it was time for a change of subject, even if it was only to avoid agitating her even more.

"So, beautiful night, isn't it?" I looked up at the sky. "Besides Perry's obvious critical situation, I mean."

"It is," she agreed, staring up at the stars. Her eyes sparkled in the starlight. I very much wanted to tell her how pretty they looked, but I had long ago told myself not to over-compliment her. On the rare occasion that I did call her cute or beautiful, she was always staring back at me as if I'd done something alien.

"W-would you be offended if I said your eyes look pretty in the starlight?" I bit my lip, waiting for an awkward reply, but none ever came.

"No," she smiled. "I actually kinda like it when you compliment me."

"You do?" I raised my eyebrows. "Then why do you always give me a weird look when I do compliment you?"

"Well, you usually kinda catch me off guard," Isabella shrugged.

"Oh, do I?" I asked, still taken aback by her responses. Man, girls are confusing. She turned her head and smiled at me again. I returned her smile awkwardly and then quickly looked out of the window, frowning. I bet my face looked like Mr. Bean or something…

"Yes, but I like it when you're honest," Isabella said hurriedly. "It's good for friends to be honest with one another. Don't you think?"

"Yeah," I nodded, agreeing totally with her. I stole another look at her. She continued to look at the stars with increasing interest. Her hair looked so pretty in the moonlight. I shook my head. Where did that come from? Isabella is my friend; always will be. Now wasn't a good time to mix in weird feelings she probably didn't want from me. I sat back and held Perry close to my body, watching his breathing with boredom and confusion mixed up in my head. But the more closely I observed, the sooner I came to realize the hard, cold truth-

Perry was no longer breathing.

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**Cliffhangers...don't you just love em?**

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	5. The Son of Poseidon

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phinea's and Ferb**

**New Chapter! Percy appears!**

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Ferb landed the car in a small alleyway when they arrived in New York City. We hadn't the slightest clue where to go from there, since Perry was incapable of breathing or moving at the moment. After he cut off the engines, we all scrambled out of the car and wandered around the city aimlessly. As far as anyone could tell, we were a normal group of kids touring the city. I was concerned that carrying a platypus that was wounded by an arrow would attract too much attention, but no one really seemed to notice Perry's condition.

Heeding to Ferb's caution that the idea of demigods possibly being a secretive subject, we werecareful to ask only general questions, such as 'where is Long Island?' Many people swore that there wasn't a camp on Long Island or refused to give us directions because we had no parents with us. Eventually, we had to stop in the middle of Central Park to rest.

"Face it, Ferb," I said, frowning at the city surrounding us. "We're lost."

"Someone's got to know about this camp," Ferb said, determined to be right for once. "We can't be the only people in the world who know about it. We just haven't run into the right person, yet."

"It had better be soon," I sighed. "Because we're penniless in New York City and we have a dying platypus on our hands."

"So we're certain he's not dead?" Ferb raised his eyebrows in hope.

"Isabella said that she can still feel his heartbeat," I nodded, placing my hands into my pockets. "She won't let go of him. I think her mom instincts are kicking in a little early, don't you?"

"Indeed," Ferb laughed. He went to lean up against the fence, but instead ended up bumping into an older boy that was walking along the fence. "Oh, pardon me."

"Oh, you're cool," the guy said. "I couldn't help but overhear that you have a slight predicament."

"Well, yeah, we're lost," I shrugged. "No one can tell us where this camp on Long Island is. They all think we're nuts or that we should have parental supervision. I want to explain further, but I don't think you'd believe us."

"Camp? On Long Island?" the boy raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Yeah, do you know if one is really there or not?" I continued. "Because so far everyone thinks we're wackos."

"I'm risking a lot by asking this, but- are you looking for Camp Half-Blood?" the boy asked, wincing a little as he said it.

"Yes! Yes, we are!" I exclaimed. "You know about it?"

"Of course," he smiled. "I'm a camper there. The name's Percy, Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. I can take you up to the camp right now, if you like. Just you and this guy, right?"

"No, it's us, the girl over there, and the platypus she's holding," I explained. "He was our guide, but due to an intervention from Aeolus, he's nearly dead at the moment."

"Ah, so this is urgent!" Percy bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet. He whistled and looked as if he was concentrating really hard on something. "I've got a ride for you guys, if you can all fit, that is."

"What kind of ride do you…" I started to ask, but Ferb placed a hand on my shoulder and pointed to the sky. A brilliant black horse came soaring over the tops of buildings, and only when he began his descent did I see the two enormous wings sprouting out of his shoulder blades. Percy was going to have us riding a Pegasus. The creature landed next to Percy and received a stroke on his long mane.

"Good boy, Blackjack," Percy smiled. The Pegasus whinnied and tossed his head. Percy laughed."Yes, you have to carry them all, this is urgent! Don't ask anymore silly questions like that."

"Wait, you can understand him?" I blinked.

"Yes, Poseidon is the god of the sea, but he's also the god of horses," Percy grinned. "So, yeah, I can talk to horses and fish."

"Cool," Ferb and I breathed simultaneously. Percy picked each of us up and placed us on Blackjack's back. He was extra careful in lifting Isabella and Perry up, making sure to keep his body as flat as possible.

"Go, Blackjack, go!" Percy exclaimed. "Go to Chiron, and fly fast! Someone's life is in your hands!"

With a running gallop, Blackjack took off down the sidewalk and launched himself into the air. Wind rushed through my hair as he climbed higher into the sky, leaving the concrete jungle behind us. New York City wasn't as brilliant from above in the daytime as it had been in the night, but it was still a magnificent view.

"How far is it?" I yelled over the wind rushing in my ears.

"Not too far!" Percy yelled back at me. "Go, Blackjack, go!"

Soon enough, Long Island came into view and my eyes widened at the sight of a dragon sitting on top of the hill. Percy looked at my shocked face and laughed. I turned around and continued to stare, my mouth wide open, in wonder that a dragon actually existed.

"This camp has a DRAGON?!" Isabella squealed with delight.

"Yes, he protects that hill right there," Percy nodded. "We call it Half-Blood Hill. It's the border of the camp. Mortals and monsters can't come through, but the Mist ensures that mortals don't even know we're here."

"Whoa," the three of us breathed in unison.

Blackjack flew right over the sleeping dragon and zipped into the camp. Cabins dotted one area of the camp, as well as several other buildings that Percy told us were training centers. Camp members were all wearing orange t-shirts that read 'Camp Half-Blood' across the front. Everyone was enjoying a day's normal activities by sparring, shooting a bow and arrow, or climbing on a wall of lava. Percy directed Blackjack to head to the infirmary. The Pegasus whinnied and dove towards one of the buildings. We all clutched each other's arms or Blackjack's mane as we hit the ground. Once we'd come to a complete stop, Percy dismounted and helped us all off.

A centaur with a longish beard galloped over to us and waved at Percy in a friendly manner. Percy waved back and ran to greet him, motioning for us to come as well.

"Percy! You're back early, I see," the centaur smiled wide.

"Yes, Chiron, I've found three demigods and their…pet…" Percy said, still confused at Perry's ability to enter Camp Half-Blood. "He's your pet, right?"

"Well, we thought he was until he admitted he was a demigod, too," I shrugged.

"Ah, well then, welcome to Camp Half-Blood!" Chiron bowed politely to us. We also bowed in respect, and Isabella curtsied awkwardly while holding Perry's limp body. "Is your platypus friend alright?"

"No, sir, he's been shot in the stomach with an arrow," I frowned. "It was Aeolus, sir. His son Stephen and Perry dueled, and Stephen shot him. He's not breathing anymore, either…"

"Please, call me Chiron," the centaur waved his hand. "And let's get Perry inside the infirmary, shall we? That arrow must be removed from his body. Zeus knows what Lord Aeolus did to the tip…"

"His name is Perry?" Percy asked me as we walked behind Chiron into the building next to us.

"Yeah, son of Athena," I nodded. "He said she calls him Pericles, though."

"Wow, how come he's a platypus?" Percy raised an eyebrow. "Was he born like that or did he do something to upset a god?"

"He told us that he ticked off Poseidon," I laughed. "The way he talked it was while he was here last."

"He's been here before?" Percy looked at me

"Yeah, quite a while ago," I nodded.

"Wow, he must be older than me," Percy whistled. "I'm sixteen, so, not that old, really, but if he's been gone for as long as I've been here…wow. A son of Athena, you said?"

"Yup," I confirmed.

"Interesting," Percy hummed. "My girlfriend is a daughter of Athena."

"Really?" I smiled. "She's smart, isn't she."

"Oh, yeah," Percy grinned. "Anabeth helped do the architecture for Mount Olympus after a recent tangle with the Titans. Our parents hate each other, if Perry hasn't pointed that out yet."

"Oh, Perry should love you…" I said with sarcasm.

* * *

**HEheheh meat and potatoes!**

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	6. A Big Thanks to Athena and Hermes

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phinea's and Ferb**

**Whose ready for more crossover? Well, here it is!**

* * *

It was only a matter of hours before they let us back in to see Perry. I ran in to see how he was with Isabella, Ferb, and Percy trailing behind me. He was laying on a small bed with real bandages wrapped around his torso and waist, which was better by far than my shirt. (I still wanted my shirt back- it's original, come on! Anyways- but they gave us all the signature Camp Half-Blood orange tees anyways.) His eyes were shut, but he was breathing again. I walked over to the side of his bed and touched his arm gently.

"Perry…?" I whispered. His eyes snapped open in response to hearing his name.

"You're not Hades…" Perry murmured. "Unless Hades looks like Phineas now. Is that you, Hades?"

"No, no," I shook my head. "No, it's me- Phineas!"

"Phineas…?" Perry murmured. "Great, we're both dead…I totally failed…"

"No!" I tried not to laugh. "Neither of us are dead! We're at Camp Half Blood we made it! All of us!"

"We made it…?" Perry smiled weakly. "Now there's only one thing that could help me die in peace…"

"You are not gonna die!" I told him, but his request caught me off guard. "Wait, what would that be? If not just us making it here to live safely, then what else was giving you unrest in life?"

"If I knew whatever had happened to my fiancé," Perry sighed.

"You have a fiancé?" my eyes got wide.

"Had," Perry corrected. "After Poseidon cursed me…she doesn't even know about this…"

"Oh," I nodded, watching him look at himself with a guilty expression. "Maybe she's still here. You know, at the camp."

"I doubt it," Perry shook his head. "Demigods don't live that long when they're like her. She was a daughter of Poseidon, you know? Probably forty-odd something years old now. Children of the Big Three- Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades- they're kinda rare."

"I heard that," Percy came up behind us. "Nice to meet you, by the way, Perry. I'm Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

"I never," Perry laughed. "Well, it's certainly an honor. I hope the issues I have with your dad don't cause any tension between us."

"Oh, of course not," Percy shook his head, smiling big. "I'm dating an Athena girl, so yeah."

"Ah, one of my half-sisters, eh?" Perry smirked. "I'm guessing the camp members have changed a bit since I was last here. Nice, nice."

"Yeah," Percy grinned. "There are more campers here than ever! Minor gods and goddesses now have cabins, Hades has a cabin- it's looking like they're finally getting the recognition they well deserve."

"I see," Perry nodded. "Say, is there a Diana Wilkins still living here? She was a daughter of Poseidon…"

"I'm afraid to say she's not here," Percy shook his head.

"You know about her?" I hopped in on the conversation eagerly.

"No," Percy admitted. "I'm the only one in use of the Poseidon cabin right now. Like Perry said, children of the Big Three are rare. Zeus' and Hades' are empty."

"Yes, indeed," Chiron's voice interrupted the conversation. We all turned to look at the centaur, wondering what he wanted from us. He smiled at us all in turn and then looked to Perry. "Pericles, are you feeling well?"

"Yeah," Perry nodded. "It sure is nice to hear your voice again, Chiron."

"It would seem you haven't been thrown into Tartarus by one of the gods, yet," Chiron smiled jokingly. "Welcome back to Camp Half-Blood. We're glad to have you back."

"It's good to be back," Perry laughed.

"I'm glad you think so," Chiron laughed jovially. "Although the Athena cabin hasn't had trouble like you since you were last here."

"Good thing I'm back to fill in that gap," Perry grinned stupidly. "It's sad to hear that in my absence no one's filled my position of troublemaker in the Athena cabin, though. Athena's always needed a fun name."

"I hear they prefer a more…disciplined…name, per se," Percy winked.

"Yeah," Perry nodded. He crawled slowly out of the bed and stood next to me. I grabbed his arm for support. Smiling, he nodded at me in thanks and beckoned me to move forward. We moved outside into the open and Perry heaved a sigh.

"You okay, buddy?" I asked, squeezing his arm a little.

"Nostalgia just slapped me in the cheek," Perry chuckled.

"That's right," I nodded in realization. "Most of your life was spent here, wasn't it?"

"Ever since I was six," Perry smiled.

"Would it be weird to ask how old you actually are?" Percy cocked his head at Perry, curious to know why he hadn't met him before.

"Forty-one," Perry held back a laugh.

"No?!" Percy stepped back in disbelief. "You can't possibly be that old!"

"What can I say, I look good for my age," Perry winked at Isabella, causing her face to go flush with embarrassment. Seeing her response, he let out a noise not too different from a cat's purr and raised his eyebrows at her. I gave Perry a hard look and he stopped trying to throw inadvertent hints at her.

"Ah, sorry, Perry," Isabella waved her hand at him dismissively. "My heart's already been given away."

"Trust me, I know," Perry rolled his eyes.

"I'm so lost!" I exclaimed.

"Ah, don't be," Percy waved his hand. "Oh, and by the way, since you haven't been claimed yet, you can stay in the Hermes cabin. Hermes is the god of travelers, so it only makes sense that we put the unclaimed ones in his cabin."

"So, how do we know when we have been claimed?" Phineas frowned.

"Well, usually your god-parent sends a sign of some sort," Percy explained. "Like, for instance, my dad put a trident over my head. Aphrodite sends a blessing of long-lasting beauty. Stuff like that."

"Well, then, give Hermes a huge thanks for letting us stay with him while we remain unclaimed," I laughed. "I'd feel awkward if I had nowhere to go…"

"Oh trust me, we all do," Perry smirked.

"What do you mean?" Isabella frowned.

"It's not like we can just leave Camp Half-Blood," Perry snickered.

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	7. A Surprising Claim

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**Well, this is awkward...I forgot to add this chapter... -AJ**

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"WAKE UP, WAKE UP!" one girl ran throughout the cabin screaming excitedly. "EVERYONE WAKE UP! GET DRESSED AND HURRY DOWN TO SEE CHIRON!"

I sat up fast and hit my head on someone's bed. It had been easy to forget I wasn't at home, but rather in a cabin full of the sons and daughters of Hermes, plus a few other unclaimed demigods. Rubbing my forehead to ease the pain, I pulled myself out of the sleeping bag and proceeded to find my clothes. That night, I'd slept in my boxers, forgetting that I was in a room with about forty other people.

"What? What's going on?" another girl asked her.

"Apparently Dad is coming to see us!" she squealed. "Can you believe it? Our dad is actually coming to Camp Half-Blood!"

Rolling my eyes, I pulled on my jean shorts and the orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt quickly. The Hermes cabin excitedly flooded out of the small room and soon enough I was left alone with Ferb.

"Wow, they're really enthused about that," I furrowed my eyebrows, trying hard to tie my shoes fast.

"Well, Perry did say that god-parents rarely visit their demigod children," Ferb shrugged.

"True that," I laughed under my breath, standing to my feet.

"Let's go see what that's all about," Ferb suggested. He started for the door.

"Alright," I smiled, following closely behind him. We made our way out to the mob that was forming outside of ring of cabins. Most of them were Hermes kids, but a few others were curious and had begun to poke their heads over the crowd to see what Chiron was talking about.

"Settle down, settle down!" Chiron chortled. "Lord Hermes will be here momentarily, I assure you!"

I felt a poke in the back of my ribs and turned around to see Perry giving me a dull look. He greeted me, but continued to stare at the mob with an air of confusion and slight disgust. I couldn't help but feel he somewhat understood what was going on.

"What's all the chaos?" he muttered.

"Apparently Hermes is showing up," I shrugged. "Not a fan of crowds, are you, buddy?"

"Crowds I'm okay with," Perry smirked. "It's the fact that some people's god-parents visit them inadvertently, like Hermes. But some people's parents, like, Athena, for example, never see us a day in our lives."

"Oh," I said blankly, not wanting to try and prove him wrong.

"It's the facts, Phinny," Perry shrugged.

"Have you ever…ever met her?" I swallowed, hoping he wouldn't take offense to the question. His brow furrowed and he averted his gaze off to the side somewhere.

"Not in person," he said quietly.

"What do you mean…?" I started, but decided I'd rather not. It didn't seem like a subject he was too thrilled to discuss. Anger burned in his eyes, and I could almost hear a growl emitting from his throat.

"I've heard her speak to me before," Perry said through gritted teeth. "But I've never seen her face. They might be our parents, but they aren't mothers and fathers. They don't act like them. We never get to see them. They're just big jerks, that's what they are."

He had a point. I'd never met my dad. It did kind of hurt to think that he'd never even considered coming to meet me. I wanted to prove him wrong so badly, but no good rebuttal came to me. Everything he'd said applied to me, besides thinking that my dad was a big jerk.

"Maybe she's just too busy, Perry," I said, accidentally making the statement more personal than I'd originally intended to.

"Oh, so it's just my mom?" he backed up away from me. "I see how it is. Every demigod but Perry deserves to see their god-parent. Hades can visit Nicolo. Hermes can reprimand Luke. Poseidon can sit and chat with Percy, but not once is Athena ever free to come and at least _see_ Perry Jase Affleck!"

Turning on his heel, Perry stormed off, unwilling to take anymore words from me. Ferb put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a sympathetic smile. I sighed and smiled back.

"Thanks, bro," I said.

"You were trying," he shrugged. "It's the least you could do for him."

"I just really hate to see him like this," I buried my head in my hands. "He's so hurt and angry underneath that fedora. If there was a way I could get his mom to come and meet him, I'd do it."

"Even if it meant an eternity in Tartarus?" Percy popped up behind us and smiled jokingly. "Chiron sat me down and had a talk about him last night. From what I heard, he's had a tough life."

"He's mentioned a little to us," I nodded in agreement.

"Did he tell you that when he was born, his dad was fifteen?" Percy raised an eyebrow. I just let my mouth hang open in shock. "That's right. I thought not. His dad was in high school and having to deal with a baby without a mom. So, pretty much, Perry was left to his grandmother's care. Mister Affleck never told his mom about Athena, naturally.

"So, at the age of six, when his dad stupidly told him that he was a demigod, Perry ran away, feeling singled out and different. For months, he scavenged for food and did his best to avoid monsters. It was a lot for a six year old to go through. He somehow made his way all the way from Tampa to Manhattan with no cash, no direction, and barely any food. That's when a satyr named Sextus found him half-dead from fending off several Empousa empty-handed.

"Sextus brought him back to Camp Half-Blood unconscious, and with Chiron's help and a little ambrosia, he was back to good health in no time, but he never ceased to cause trouble. He wanted attention, was Chiron's guess, but not from anyone at the camp; he wanted his goddess mother to confront him. She eventually claimed him at the age of seven, when he single-handedly destroyed one of our capture the flag teams. But still, it wasn't enough to just be claimed.

"He tried doing the vilest things to attract her attention. Naturally, he was strong and smart, which made him a formidable opponent. He'd harm the other campers and even go as far as to kill them, given Chiron didn't break up the fights. When he realized that harming other demigods was a failed idea, he began to tamper with monsters. Again, he was left with no sighting of her. He decided it was time to do the most dangerous of feats yet; tamper with the Titans and the gods.

"At first, he toyed with Poseidon by using his logic to outwit the Cyclopses in small games of poker. Poseidon, of course, was ticked off, and he turned him into a platypus to humiliate him. But did that stop Perry? Not for a minute. He had bad dealing with each of the Anemoi, sent very provocative hate-mail to Hades, set fire to Khione, flirted with Artemis, cursed poetry in Greek to Apollo's face, and, when Zeus called trial to stop his heinous behavior, he actually spat on Zeus' feet and cussed him out..

"Of course, Zeus was outraged, so he sent Perry away from the camp and ordered him to do a satyr's job and search for demigods in Danville. Reluctantly, Perry made his way to Danville. Upon his arrival, he saw some thugs beating up on a smaller man and defended him. A man by the name of Francis Monogram took him in as a secret agent, and when he found out you two were demigods, he put in a written request to live with you. He was your protector up until yesterday."

"But why?" I pressured. "Does he feel abandoned?"

"I think he feels unwanted," Percy corrected. "His dad barely had time for him, his grandparents felt oddly about his anger issues, and his mom has never showed up to see him."

"Man," I shuddered. "I'm lucky my mom married his dad."

"As am I," Ferb agreed.

"Most demigods come from hard homes," Percy frowned. "His story isn't the worst, and yours isn't the best. Some people kill themselves over it, and others go through life to be very successful."

"I suppose," I sighed. "But it still would be nice to know who our god-parent is."

"Yeah, I get that," Percy nodded.

"When did your dad claim you?" I asked. "If it doesn't bother you, that is."

"Oh, not at all," Percy waved his hands. "He claimed me when I was twelve. Four years ago."

"How long does it normally take?" I scratched the back of my head nervously.

"Depends," Percy licked his lips, probably thinking of a good way to put it. "Some people are claimed instantly. Others, well, they never get claimed. They just live out their lives never knowing who their other parent was."

"That sounds dreadful!" I gasped, wondering why gods could be so rude to their children.

"It is how it is, Phineas," Percy shrugged.

"I hope that we learn our parents, Ferb," I said, turning to my stepbrother and grabbing him by the shoulder with my right hand. "So we can at least put a name to them, you know?"

"Yes," Ferb blinked. "It would be very nice to know."

As I looked at him, I noticed small things about his appearance changing. A pair of shades settled onto his nose, his hair slicked back all by itself, and his regular outfit turned into a very dashing tuxedo. I stepped back and let the expression on my face tell all. Ferb read into my expression and looked at himself, also very confused about the random transformation.

"Ferb…you're…you're…" I stuttered.

"I'm what?" Ferb frowned.

"You're a son of Aphrodite?!" Percy stepped back as well, clearly confused.

"Well…" Ferb said. "That's odd…"

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**Again...AWK-WARD. So sorry, guys. **


	8. Charmspeak and Flowers of the Dead

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phinea's and Ferb**

**Here be's a crossover update :D I hope you all like it!**

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Chapter Eight: Charmspeak and the Flowers of the Dead

Chiron galloped over to see what we were freaking out about. He was followed closely by a man with winged shoes on his feet and serpents on his hand. Several of the other campers were gasping and pointing at Ferb. I was just astonished at the transformation; never mind whoever Aphrodite was- Ferb looked simply amazing in those specs.

"Is there a reason he's suddenly wearing that?" Isabella ran up behind us, as curious as ever.

"Who cares?" I grinned. "Ferb looks awesome in those!"

"Yeah," Isabella rolled her eyes. "And the fact that they read 'Feodras' makes total sense, now doesn't it?"

"Didn't catch that," I shrugged. "Is that Greek for 'really swag British boy' or something like that? Because, man, that would be so cool! Hey, Ferb, what does Feodras mean?"

"Stone," he replied, smirking at my comment.

"Aw, darn," I laughed.

"Well, well, well," Chiron smiled down at us. "It seems that Aphrodite has claimed another one. And it's funny to think that his father is British- Aphrodite's children are always so fluent in French."

"Nice," Percy muttered.

"I do speak French," Ferb said, blinking.

"Nevertheless," Chiron told him. "You have been claimed! Campers, I give you Ferb, son of Aphrodite! Would someone please get a satyr to move his things to the Aphrodite cabin?"

"Yes, sir!" one small girl in the back answered, and she ran off to find one.

"So, Ferb, what's it feel like to finally know your mom's name?" I hugged him, happy for him.

"Complete," he smiled back, returning my embrace. "I just wish you knew who your dad was. Then you could feel complete as well. Even if we aren't blood brothers, I'll always consider you one."

"Thanks, bro," I said, a grin spreading wide across my face.

"Yeah, yeah, god parent's make you feel complete," Perry said, reappearing seemingly out of nowhere. "Just wait until they never show up to tell you how proud they are or never care to congratulate you on surviving the world of monsters."

"Pericles, if you don't have a decent comment about the gods, please at least keep it to yourself," Chiron shot him a look. "We all know you hate your mother, and there's nothing we can do to change that. At least allow others the pleasure of learning who their parent is."

"He's understandable," Ferb defended. "He's been hurt."

"Thank you!" Perry exclaimed.

"It still give him no right to lash out," Chiron narrowed his eyes. "It's a wonder Athena hasn't killed him yet."

"I wouldn't mind if she did," Perry muttered.

"Perry!" I gasped.

"Well, it's- what in the name of Zeus…" Perry's eyes widened and he stared in Isabella's direction.

I turned my head to look as well. A wreath of flowers had landed on her head, as well as a lei (which had fallen around her shoulders). Rose petals were falling around her and the area she was standing in smelled like orchids. I blinked and rubbed my eyes a few times to make sure I was seeing things right. Dang, she was gorgeous.

"Um…" Isabella held up the lei to her eye level. "Ooh, these are pretty."

"Pretty's an understatement," I sighed, receiving odd looks from everyone. "I…I mean…uh…you know, she's pretty. It's…it's a scientific fact."

Isabella turned to look at me and blushed. I could feel my cheeks burning red. Chiron looked over at her as well. He raised an eyebrow curiously. She turned her attention to him and shrugged. (Although I was pretty sure that Chiron knew she didn't put those there.)

"Well, it looks as if the gods are really trying to outdo each other today," he chuckled. "It appears we have a daughter of Eros."

"Who's Eros?" Isabella blinked, obviously not the best at mythology.

"Just like Aphrodite is the goddess of love, Eros is her counterpart," Chiron nodded. "So, in some way, Eros is a god of love."

"I was told he was the god of sex," Perry said under his breath.

"What?" I turned to look at him.

"Nothing," he looked away.

"Yes, Pericles, he is also that," Chiron said, somewhat agitated with him. "But it's not something we generally speak of to the younger campers. You need to remember that not all of us are in our forties, here."

"Sorry," Perry grumbled.

"Wow, so two claims in one day," the man with the winged shoes smiled. "It seems as if all is well up in Olympus. Well, if Eros is there, that is. If he's not, then, well, who knows, great timing?"

"Yes, great timing indeed, Lord Hermes," Chiron smiled. So, the guy with the awesome sauce shoes is Hermes. Cool, cool.

"I was meaning to give you this just before the claiming happened," Hermes smiled and handed me a package. "It's for you from an anonymous source. Zeus asked me to pass it on to you, Phineas."

"Th-thanks," I stammered, hardly able to believe that a god was handing me mail. (At least, I considered it to be mail. Like Greek Fed-Ex or something.) "Thanks, Lord Hermes."

"Anytime, Phineas," he winked. "And a shout-out to all of my wonderful children out here! You all make me proud!"

A huge cheer came from the Hermes cabin. Girls were whistling, boys were hooting, and everyone was clapping excitedly. One of them was waving a large banner with a caduceus on it. Hermes flew over all of them, then disappeared into the sky.

"He's such a crowd pleaser," Perry huffed.

"Kinda jaunty, if you ask me," I chuckled.

"Oh, put a sock in it," Perry rolled his eyes and walked off.

"What's eating him?" Isabella frowned.

"Parental issues," I shrugged. "So, god of love, goddess of love."

"Yeah," Ferb laughed.

"So, wait, what does that make me?"

* * *

**Ferb and Isa are officially claimed! Now what about Phineas?**


	9. What Presided in the Box

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**Hey, AJ ThaPlatypus still! WHO'S READY FOR A TWIST? And did he tell ya'll I wrote all the PnF and the one GF fanfics? It's okay if he didn't, I'm just curious xD Sorry- I'm new at this, excuse my weirdness. **

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Chapter Nine: What Presided in the Box

That night, Ferb went to sit with the Aphrodite table and Isabella joined in with the children of Eros. (Perry said she was lucky that it was mostly girls, because the boys tended to be extremely erotic; I rolled my eyes and told him to shut his face.) Me, I was still stuck at the Hermes table. They were friendly and all, but I still felt out of place, in a way. I had a gut feeling that Hermes wasn't my dad, since he hadn't claimed me while he was here. Several of them were jealous because Hermes' hand had brushed up against mine, but I told them it didn't make me feel any different.

At dinner, the campers all had to give their first servings to their parents. Basically, we had to throw a plateful of perfectly good food into the bonfire in the middle of the tables and dedicate it to our parent. I asked if I just did my dedication to Hermes and the kids all said to just thank an anonymous parent. Weird, but if that's how it works- that's how it works. I just dumped the plate in and asked that whoever my dad was, could he please show me a sign to let me know. He didn't have to claim me; he just had to let me know he was there.

I sat back down at the Hermes table last, and Chiron told us we were free to eat. The cups were pretty cool- all you had to do was say the name of the drink you wanted and it would magically fill up. (I knew instantly that Ferb would get lemonade, so I went ahead and filled mine up with lemonade as well. Isabella was probably drinking a smoothie if I knew her right. Perry- heaven knows what he was drinking.) One girl named Karen Lovesworth came and sat next to me.

"Hey," she smiled. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all," I shook my head. "It's Karen, right?"

"Yup," she nodded. "And you're Phineas."

"Yeah," I chuckled. Everyone had made it a point to know my name after Hermes had handed me that package. "You not up for the party at the other end of the table, I'm guessing?"

"It's for Hermes," she laughed. "We're unclaimed. It'd be awkward."

"Oh, so you're unclaimed, too?" I half-smiled, glad to know someone felt how I did.

"Mm-hmm," she nodded. "I have a feeling I'm a daughter of one of the minor gods. They're less likely to claim demigods because they're not as competitive as the twelve Olympians are."

"Really?" I sat up, interested. "I've never been much of a Grecophile."

"Silly," Karen giggled.

"How long have you been here?" I asked her, trying to get good conversation out of her. She counted on her fingers.

"Seven years," she finally said.

"Yikes, that's a long time," I whistled. "Do we have to stay here for the rest of our lives or something?"

"Depends," she shrugged. "Some people stay only during the school year and go back to see their parent in the summer. They're usually the weaker demigods. Others stay year-round until they're old enough to take care of themselves. They're usually stronger. A select few…they can't ever leave because they're too powerful."

"Dang," I breathed.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I go home in the summer to see my mom sometimes. This summer she had work in Tahiti, so I'm stuck here."

"Wow," I said. I didn't really know how to best respond to her, so I left the response open.

"What about you?" she changed the topic off of herself. "Is your god-parent your dad or your mom?"

"My dad," I sighed. "I live, or lived, rather, with my mom and step-dad."

"Oh, got any siblings?" she leaned one elbow on the table.

"Well, Ferb," I said, pointing to the Aphrodite table. "He's my step-brother. I also have a half-sister named Candace. I thought she was my full sister, though. It had never occurred to me that my dad was a Greek deity and hers wasn't."

"Boy, is that the truth," Karen laughed. "If someone had flat out told me that I was a demigod then, I would have laughed in their face and asked what kind of drugs they were on."

"Yeah," I chuckled. Picking up my cup, I took a swallow of the lemonade. It felt nice on my dry throat. "I suppose you could count Perry as a 'brother' of mine. But in all reality, we viewed him more as a pet."

"Perry Affleck was your pet?" she grinned. "He talks a lot of smack for a demigod turned into a beaver."

"Platypus," I corrected calmly.

"A platy-what?" she giggled. "What's that?"

"Platypus," I repeated. "An animal unique to the eastern parts of Australia. They're one of the only two monotremes, or egg-laying mammals, to exist in the world. They really enjoy water, because they're semi-aquatic, the males are poisonous and can cause hyperalgesia in humans if they sting us with the spike on the back of their feet, and the females sweat milk."

"Wow, you do know your platypus fact," Karen raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah," I laughed.

"Well, it's been nice getting to know you," she smiled, picking up her plate. "I'm off to get more archery practice in before we have to go to bed."

"See you around, then!" I waved. She waved back and ran off to find her bow and arrow. I returned my plate, fork, and cup to the place I'd found them and ran out into the woods. Earlier, I'd placed the small parcel in my jacket in hopes of smuggling it somewhere secret so that I could open it. Once I'd found the perfect place, I pulled the package out and examined it.

It was no bigger than an average-sized textbook. The wrapping on the outside was black, and the only hint at the box's purpose was a big gold sticker that read 'Phineas' on it. I traced my fingers along the edges until I'd found where the paper folded over, then gently pulled it up and away from what was inside.

There was a brown cardboard box inside with a note tucked loosely under one of its flaps. I grabbed ahold of the note and slid it out, also noting that it read my name. Eagerly, I flipped the envelope open and pulled out the note, which read:

'Dear Phineas, I am sad to say that I have not claimed you as my own yet, but as there is trouble stirring on Olympus, I feel it is for your own safety that only you and I know I am your father. Soon you and your friends from Danville will be sent on a quest, and I have sent you something to aid in this. Please use it to the best of your ability. Your father, Hades, Lord of the Dead.'

I couldn't say what was more of a shock to me- that my dad had wanted to claim me but wouldn't, or that my dad was the god of the underworld. Not that it was a bad thing, per se, to be the son of one of the Big Three (as the campers called Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades), but it was completely contrary to my lively attitude. Wouldn't the god of the Underworld and the dead be…well…dead in personality?

Brushing away the thought, I slowly opened up the box. Inside it was what appeared to be a sharp-edged metal 'U,' but when I pulled it out, a staff extended noiselessly from the base and I discovered that it was a two-pronged spear. I found myself wishing that Ferb was here to help me understand. He knew way more about mythology than I did.

A small slip of paper was sitting in the base of the box. I stooped back down and picked it up. The writing on it was small, but I could see every word of it quite clearly.

'Use this wisely. Below is an incantation you can use to raise an army of dead soldiers if ever you need it. In the box you should find an invisible bag full of drachmas that you can use to send me an Iris-message if you need help. Be as clandestine as possible- Zeus cannot know about our contact.'

Looking to my left and my right, I slid the papers into my pocket as quietly as possible and examined the spear to see how I could make it retract back into a crude-looking 'U' again. There appeared to be a button at the base of the spearhead, so I pressed that and watched the staff slowly slide away. Satisfied, I slipped the spear into my other pocket and made for the camp.

"Hey, slick, where ya been?" Perry stepped out in front of me out of nowhere.

"Would…you…stop…doing…that?!" I asked him.

"Doing what?" he frowned.

"Popping up out of literally nowhere! How the heck do you do that?!" I said, completely exasperated. "It scares me to no end!"

"Oh, sorry, force of habit," Perry shrugged. "So, where were you?"

"Just out in the woods," I said flatly.

"Any reason why?" he smiled, as if he knew.

"What did you do?" I sighed.

"I followed you because Chiron asked me to," Perry raised his eyebrows. "Campers don't go into the woods alone. It's dangerous."

"Well, a head's up would be nice," I put my hands on my hips. "How much do you know? What did you see?"

"Wow, defensive," Perry smirked. "I didn't see much. You were opening that package that Hermes gave you. You seemed a tad confused, but I won't intrude if you feel it's not something you can share with your best friend."

"Gah, Perry!" I said, slapping my forehead. "You have to swear not to tell anyone, not even your siblings."

"I'm cool with that," Perry smiled. "As long as you don't tell anyone I sent more hate mail to Aeolus."

"Perry!"

"Sorry…"

"You know better than that!"

"Just tell me."

"Fine, here goes- I know who my dad is."

* * *

**C'mon- admit it: Most everyone was thrown off, am I right? xD**


	10. Capture the Flag- Phalanx Style

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**Hey, AJ ThaPlatypus AGAIN. I know. I'm a terrible hype-man/girl what-not. But- please enjoy drumroll CAPTURE THE FLAG! Percy Jackson style ;)**

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Before Perry had a chance to respond to me, Chiron blew on a conch shell and called the entire camp to circle around him. Perry rolled his eyes and began to drag me along by the wrist, probably looking for Ferb, Isabella, or Percy. The excited campers were talking in hushed voices amongst themselves. All I could gather was something about 'pantalones del fuego' and 'we'll win this time.' It kind of scared me to hear those two sentences in the same conversation.

"Campers! Campers! Can I have your full attention please?" Chiron's voice echoed over the crowd. Everyone's chatter died down all at once. "Thank you. It is time for this week's usual capture the flag event. Last time, Ares' team gained the flag. Perhaps we can change that, though?"

Snickers came from my right. A group of kids holding a large red flag with a boar's head on it jeered at the crowd and cheered for another win by the Ares cabin. I still wanted to know what the 'pantalones del fuego' was all about. Chiron waved his hands for the campers to simmer down.

"Now, the usual rules still apply," he said, casting a cautioning look at the Ares cabin members. "But this time around, there is a twist in the game play."

A hush fell over the crowd as many drew in their breath in, waiting for him to continue.

"Any spells or incantations you know, you may use them," Chiron announced. "It is free range for every power!"

Cheers burst out among the campers, and they split off into multiple groups. Someone grabbed both me and Perry by the necks and dragged us over to one team. Apparently we were now a part of the 'blue-plume club,' because the older campers handed us a couple of helmets with obnoxious blue plumes. I asked if I really had to wear it, and they told me 'only if I valued my life and very aerodynamically-shaped head.' Perry thought that was hilarious for some reason. I told him that if he thought my head looked funny, his entire body looked like a crudely-drawn loaf of bread.

Once they'd gotten us to stop arguing, they explained the situation to us in terrible detail. There were two teams, half and half, that were made up of several different cabins. Our cabins, Athena and Hermes, were teamed up with a large group of the cabins of minor gods as well as Aphrodite, Eros, Poseidon, and Apollo. But, as the older campers stated, Aphrodite, Eros, and Hypnos wouldn't be of much help to us; especially Hypnos, because they were always asleep.

We were stationed in the eastern side of the forest. The Athena cabin leader, Anabeth Chase (who was also Percy's girlfriend), was the official leader of our team. She positioned Percy in the water (duh), the Aphrodite and Eros kids that would fight went to our northern side, and Hypnos, Nemesis, and Anthea to our southern side. Athena kids (except for Perry, who she didn't trust with even a cotton swab) and Apollo kids were to scout ahead and find the other team's flag, while Hermes (and Perry) were left to guard the flag.

The entire team spread out at once, leaving us alone at the flag. Perry pulled off his hat and rummaged around for something dangerous (it was just Perry; he told me that dangerous tools were his forte). I seriously considered using the pitchfork thing my dad had given me, but I thought better of it- what if it was his symbol and I revealed our secret to the entire camp? That wasn't a risk I wanted to take.

I nudged Perry in the side and asked him for a weapon out of the side of my mouth. He rolled his eyes and pulled out a sword, letting me know that next time he wasn't going to offer another platypus-sized tool- I needed to find my own or suffer serious maiming. I told him I'd maim him if he didn't keep his smart mouth shut. To my surprise, he actually shut up. Karen told us to both be quiet so that we wouldn't 'compromise the location.'

We stood at the ready for a good long while, so long, in fact, that Perry had taken to pulling flowers out of the grass and picking every single petal off then promptly eating the center. Karen was giving him a look of hatred, but still standing at the ready. The other Hermes members were either pickpocketing each other or telling really bad jokes in Greek. Perry reached for another flower, but I knocked it out of his hand.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, trying his best to keep it a whisper.

"I'm sorry, but you're not paying attention!" I whispered back angrily. "We could be attacked at any moment and you're sitting over here consuming stamens or something!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Perry waved his hands. "First of, it's not just the stamens, it's also the pistils. And who's the secret agent here? That's right, I'm the secret agent. I know precisely what I'm doing. So- back off, little man."

"Excuse me?" I put my hands on my hips.

"Hey, I call 'em as I see 'em," he shrugged, grinning as if he'd won. But I wasn't about to let him have that satisfaction.

"No, no, no," I shook my head. "Just because you're 'a secret agent' doesn't mean anything."

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow, getting defensive on the subject.

"Yeah, I said it!" I stamped my foot on the ground. "There is a high chance that everyone here is better than you BY THEMSELVES."

"Uh, you did NOT just insult my skills," Perry snapped his fingers and cocked his head back.

"You wanna bet?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Bring it on, Flynn," Perry put his arm out at full length and motioned with his fingers for me to get closer. "I've got all day, bro."

"And did you call me little?" I crossed my arms. "You're smaller than me. Scratch that- everything about you is smaller than me. You are tiny in every way possible, and there ain't nothing you can do about it."

"Did you just insult my-"

"HECK YEAH, I DID!" I shouted back.

"OH, HECK NO!"

"GOT ANYTHING BETTER THAN THAT TO THROW AT ME?!"

"YEAH, YOU CAN SUCK-"

"WOULD YOU TWO FREAKING SHUT UP?!" Karen yelled back at us. "You sound stupid, and no one cares which of you is bigger than the other."

"She totally did not understand that insult," I shook my head.

"Nope, she didn't," Perry frowned. "But still, that's no way to talk to your best friend, Phineas. Insulting my-"

"Karen doesn't care about your balls, Perry," I sighed. "So just cut it with the murderous looks and loud exclamations. I'm most certain you're the only one who cares about them."

"You're asking for it, Phinny," Perry gritted his teeth. "If we weren't surrounded by other people right now, I'd so pound your face for that comment. Just you wait. I will get you. I will so get you."

I didn't have time to respond, because Karen sounded the alarm and told us to prepare ourselves. We banded together in a phalanx-like position and readied our swords. Several battle cries were heard before we saw the flood of Ares kids came bounding over the hills like a flood filling our small valley.

"PANTALONES DEL FUEGO!" the kid at the front screamed, and they all knocked arrows with green fire burning on the end. So, that's what that meant. I hadn't expected this.

"Greek fire," Karen grumbled. "So that's their game."

"Impressive," Perry smiled. "But we've got a secret weapon they can't compare with."

"And what, pray tell, is that?" she whipped her head around to look at him, her blond hair whipping wildly around her face.

"This," Perry grinned, pulling a giant flamethrower out of his fedora. I slapped myself in the forehead. Things were about to get scary. Making it a point to edge away from him slowly, I gripped the sword in my hands and paid attention to raining arrows. A shield would have been smart, in retrospect. Not to mention taking Perry's fedora away. That would have been a smart move, too.

"Who gave the platypus dangerous stuff?!" Karen exclaimed. "Was it Neville?! Lisa, have you been smuggling weapons again? Hey! I saw that guilty look, Jerome! Oh, don't you roll those eyes at me!"

"Chill-ax," Perry clicked his teeth at her. "Mom gave it to me."

"The dumbest thing the goddess of wisdom has ever done…" one girl muttered under her breath.

"Archers, at the ready!" Karen yelled, ignoring the chit-chat behind her. "And whatever you do, steer clear of the monotreme, will ya?"

The Apollo kids all knocked there arrows and aimed at the onslaught of Ares kids. With a loud cry of 'pluck yew' (Ferb had once explained to me what that meant, but all I remember was it had something to do with middle finger removal), they released their arrows and all we heard for a few moments were battle cries and the gentle 'whoosh' of arrow shafts zipping through the cool air.

None of that seemed to even faze the sturdy Ares kids. Perry furrowed his brow and ran at them with his flamethrower, screaming something in Greek (again, I think it was 'pudding cups,' but I'm really gonna have to pay more attention to my Greek-knowledge instincts from now on) and bathing the kids in pink flames. I sighed and made a mental note to ask Perry if he was gay later. For now, I had to help fend off these campers.

Then it hit me: Chiron had said we could use spells and incantations of any kind during this round of capture the flag. I ducked behind a rock where no one could see me and I pulled the slip of paper out of my pocket. On it were four incantations. I picked the shortest one and concentrated on pronouncing the words right.

"Skotádi tou chrónou, apó ta pits ti̱s Tártara, éla na me voi̱thí̱sei tó̱ra, se af̱tí̱ ti̱n thermóti̱ta ti̱s máchi̱s! Eláte Erinýes! Eláte tó̱ra ! Gia ti̱n dikí̱ mou plev̱rá, oi enischýseis plev̱rá mou!" I whispered, hoping that it would work, whatever it did.

A loud screech sounded throughout the forest, and three large bat-like creatures screeched down from the sky, clawing at the Ares cabin. I leapt up on top of the rock and watched as they scared off the startled red team. Our team cheered, but Karen began to look around suspiciously. Scared, I shoved the paper back down into my pocket.

"Who did that?!" she screamed, but before anyone could answer, Anabeth and Percy came running over the hill with our team trailing behind them, proudly waving about the banner of the Ares cabin. The boar's head melted into an owl. We'd apparently won.

"We have their flag!" Anabeth cried, brandishing it about over our heads. Everyone crowded close around her, cheering for our success.

"Wait, wait!" Karen hopped up onto the rock I'd just hidden behind and gave a stern look to the crowd. "Someone, and I don't know who, summoned the Furies to come aid us during that fight."

"Furies?" Percy gasped. "But…Nico isn't here! He's elsewhere! You know how he is. And other than him, there's no other children of Hades that we know about."

"We know that it wasn't Nico, Percy, we're not idiots!" Karen hissed. "But as much as we respect all of the gods, Lord Hades understands that his magic is dark and not to be performed by campers! Would anyone like to make a confession? I'm talking to all of my fellow unclaimed campers here!"

Mumbles erupted through the crowd, and soon enough Chiron and the other team had gathered around us as well. The centaur moved his way to the center next to Karen and asked her what was going on.

"Someone summoned the Furies!" she told him, exasperated beyond angry.

"Alright," Chiron looked out over the crowd. "By now all of you should understand that after the Titan War, toying with such dangers are not allowed at Camp Half-Blood. Is there an unclaimed demigod present that would like to share something? Preferably someone who knows that they're a child of Hades?"

At this, arguments and accusations came out of nowhere. Neville swore it was Lisa. Lisa told him to shut his face because she was claimed by Hermes. Several people threw Perry's name out there (and that was understandable, I guess). Many of the Ares kids were blamed. Chiron shouted over the chaos and told the campers to all calm down.

"Chiron, please!" Karen pleaded.

"Enough! Enough all of you!" Chiron shouted, his voice echoing throughout the forest eerily. "This case will be determined in the morning! As for now, everyone to your cabins until we sort out this Fury problem! Stay in your cabins until I have sent satyrs with the all clear, am I understood?"

"Yes, Chiron!" the campers sang in unison. We all picked up our weapons and magic items and headed slowly back up to the cabins, unsure of what to do. Guilt swelled up in my throat. I knew I was guilty. I'd called them. Perry and Ferb gave me a quick hug and ran off to their respective cabins.

"Trust me, unclaimed demigods in the Hermes cabin, when I say that you're getting searched and more tomorrow, I mean it," Chiron said angrily. "No one should be hiding that they're a child of Hades. Not now. Not on the brink of war."

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**Phinny appears to be...como se dice...screwed. Or is he? Mwahahaha!**


	11. Forced Into Hiding

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**AJ back with another update. **

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I curled up in my sleeping bag and tucked my knees into my chest. My dad had told me to not tell anyone that I was his son, but Chiron had made it clear that no one should be hiding at this point. He'd said something about a war. Was I inadvertently being used as a part of an uprising? Ferb had once told me that Hades was well-known for rebelling against the Olympian thrones. Shuddering at the thought, I pulled my bag tighter around me. I now regretted the choice to sleep in my boxers alone.

The air felt chilly in the Hermes cabin. Those that had been claimed by Hermes were casting suspicious looks at all of us who were unclaimed. Any one of us could be a child of Hades, and, sadly, I knew it was me. I had caused all this unrest. Karen looked as if someone had slapped her in the face. Guilt hung heavy in my chest, making breathing a real chore. How could I face what I'd done?

Sighing, I turned and faced the wall, unable to look at my distressed cabin mates any longer. Not that it helped, really. For once in my life, that happy-go-lucky ever- optimistic feeling had faded into a cold, dark pit of guilt and shame. My heart hung in my chest like a weight tied around my neck. I could feel its dull pounding in my ears, daring me to say something to Chiron. But it was well past midnight. Chiron would be asleep by now. The only person to tell was, inevitably, my dad.

Ever so quietly, I got up and slipped on a bathrobe. A few heads glanced up my way, and I reassured everyone that I was fine and I just needed a breath of fresh air. No one argued the point. I slipped on my sneakers and walked briskly out of the cabin and into the night.

I made my way up to the vacant Hades cabin. Pressing my hand against the door, I found out that it was open. I looked around to make sure that no one could see me, then quickly went inside and closed the door. It was a dismal place to be in. It was black and gray, with skulls and pictures of three-headed dogs decorating the room's interior. I shuddered. Hades was the complete opposite of me.

"Ah, Phineas," a voice said behind me. "So you've found a way to cause unrest in the camp. That gives me mixed feelings, it does."

Surprised, I turned on my heel to see a man wearing a leather jacket, jeans and sneakers. His skin was a little paler than mine, and cold blue eyes were much paler than mine. He had jet black hair, as well.

"Who…?" I mouthed.

"Relax, Phineas," he laughed. "I'm your father, I'm not here to hurt you or get you in trouble in any way."

"Oh," I said, relaxing a little bit. "I-I didn't mean to call the Furies…"

"I know you didn't, Phineas," Hades smiled. "You just need to practice your Greek. It's interesting that you don't pick it up as well as Nico did."

"They mentioned a Nico…" I murmured.

"Yes, your half-brother, Nico," Hades nodded. "He doesn't prefer to stay at Camp Half-Blood. But I'm not here to talk about him. I'm here to talk about you, Phineas. I have a mission for you."

"A-a mission?" I stammered.

"Yes, a mission. I'm going to send an army to Olympus. And you, Phineas, will lead that army. Your first goal is to get away from this camp and join another son of mine," Hades said, placing a necklace around my neck. "And I'm watching."

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**Why do I suddenly feel so dark...?**


	12. Deep in the Mind

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**Update! -AJ**

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As I left the cabin, I had to gather my thoughts for a moment. Too much information was being piled on me at once. In a span of less than forty-eight hours, I'd found out I was a son of Hades, found out how to summon Furies, and been given a mission by my father to aid in the destruction of Mount Olympus. My head swam in the overload of information, trying so desperately to make heads or tails of it all.

I walked briskly back to the Hermes cabin and tried my best to be as quiet as possible. A few heads lifted up to see what I was doing, but all I did was crawl back into the comfort of my own sleeping bag. Its warmth helped me to calm down a bit, but my head was still a sea of confusion.

It was ultimately up to me now whether or not this would all sort out in my thoughts. I had a choice to make, and a rather large one at that. Either I had to obey my dad and possibly hurt everyone else I knew, or I had to alert Chiron immediately and explain the predicament to him. But thoughts of Chiron banishing me from the camp haunted my conscious; Percy had once stated that a girl who'd repeatedly used her god-parent's powers to harm the other campers had been forced to leave. No one really knew what her outcome was.

The thoughts swirled around like a tornado in my head. My dad's instructions rang like a gong in my head, echoing throughout the copious vacancy of my cave-like mind. _I'm going to send an army to Olympus. And you, Phineas, will lead that army._ I shuddered at the very thought. My personality definitely had not come from my dad. I was my mom through and through.

My mind wandered back to the days I'd imagine my dad and who he was. When I was younger, I had pictured him as, perhaps, a firefighter or a policeman. A few years following, I'd considered him to be a rock star or other popular man on television. Just before now, I'd tried to see a man just like me. All turned out to be wrong, and I was starting to wonder why my mom had taken to Hades in the first place. She was a very optimistic person, and certainly not a fan of anything that Hades might enjoy. Perhaps I had misjudged her.

I turned onto my side in the sleeping bag and once again stared at the wall. Sighing, I shut my eyes and tried to remember what it was like to sleep in a bed. It had been so many days since I'd last slept in a real bed. I was half-tempted to sneak back into the Hades cabin and use one of those beds, but I thought better of it. Chiron would probably be able to tell I was the culprit after finding me there or I would be creeped out by all of the dead things in the room. Well, technically the last would always be true. I had no desire to be near decorative dead things while I was asleep. The sleeping bag suddenly seemed so much more preferable.

Pulling the bag tight around myself, I did my best to relax. So as long as I just pretended to be clueless about the Fury incident, I could calmly explain all of this to Chiron in the morning. Then my issues would be over with, for the most part, and it would be a well-trained centaur over a boy who was still very bad with his Greek mythology.

Night drew on, and my eyelids grew heavy over my blue eyes. I was still half-awake when the last of the Hermes kids had fallen asleep. I was probably the only demigod to still be awake at this hour. But most of all, I was most definitely the only demigod here to have been sent on a dangerous mission to defy Zeus himself.

* * *

**Sorry...I forgot to have him pull his shirt off:P**


	13. On a Mission Without Permission

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**I'm having so much fun writing this! Seeing as I usually prefer to do Perry's POV, it's nice to do Phineas' for once:) -AJ**

* * *

Sleep never did come, though. After hours of tossing and turning, I eventually decided that if I was ever going to appease to my dad, I had to make a break for it tonight. Quietly pulling myself out of the sleeping bag, I began to hurriedly pack my things and prepare myself for the long trip ahead of me. Making sure that I'd packed everything I'd needed for a trip to find an unknown half-brother, I slipped on my pants and headed for the door. How exactly did my dad expect me to find someone I didn't know anyways? Sighing, I bent over and tied my shoes for good measure, then headed silently out of the door.

The dawn was warm, and the dew that was forming on the ground felt cold as it seeped through my sneakers. I headed straight for Half-Blood Hill and hoped with all of my heart that no one would see me; especially not Ferb, Isabella, or Perry. He didn't want to hurt any of their feelings. I couldn't imagine the hurt they'd feel once I was gone. There was no coming back to this camp; a child of Hades was not a welcome person among the other demigods.

By the time I'd made it to the top of the hill, the sun had begun to peek over the horizon, splaying pink and orange rays of light over the skyline of Manhattan. I sighed. It was a beautiful farewell. Readjusting the backpack straps on my shoulders, I began the descent of the hill and headed straight in a southern direction. Perhaps I didn't know where I was going, but to be sure my father would alert me if I was going the wrong way.

I continued on for a few hours, not really caring where I'd ended up. My first stop was to find some decent food. Pulling every last bit of cash out of my pockets, I managed to buy a loaf of bread, a bag of sandwich meat, and two-liter bottle of water. It was the best I could do, seeing as I was short on monetary needs. The thought of really needing money had never crossed my mind before, and now I was beginning to regret the decision to keep my pockets mostly empty. It was sheer luck that there was any in my pockets at all.

As I sat my backpack down to sort through my stuff, I was unprepared for what happened next. A teal blue hand grabbed my wrist and spun me around. I was pulled so close that all I could see was the furrowed brow of none other than Perry. He gave me an agitated chatter, then pretended to slap me.

"What in Half-Blood Hill were you thinking?!" Perry spat. "You can't just run away from camp, moron! You'll get killed! There's no protection from monsters and angry gods out here!"

"Perry, I wish I could explain it to you, but-" I began.

"No! No! There are no 'but's' about it," Perry growled. "You are coming back with us right now!"

"Us?" I blinked confusedly. He pointed to his left with one hand and turned my head with his right. Ferb, Isabella, and Percy were all standing there staring at the fiasco Perry was making. I gave a nervous laugh.

"Phineas, what were you thinking?" Perry repeated, looking back at me, his furious brown eyes flaring angrily.

"Look, I have to do this," I said, biting my lip. "It's for my own good and for the good of everyone at the camp if I just stay away."

"You sorry little-" Perry started, but then his eyes widened. "Phineas…no…it can't possibly have been you. There's no way that you did it…"

"What?" Percy stepped forward and frowned.

"When you said you knew who your father was, Phineas, I didn't think you meant that you were the son of Hades," Perry stepped back, a tad concerned for his own well-being. "I would've guessed Hephaestus…"

"He hasn't even told you yet," Isabella objected, trying to defend me.

"Isabella, the only campers that ever leave 'for the good of the other campers' are usually Hades' kids," Percy explained. "Most feel that they either don't fit in or that they're a huge danger to the other campers. Hades being one of the Big Three and an opposing force to Zeus; it's kinda scary to the demigods who aren't Big Three kids."

"I…" I started, but I was at a total loss for words. Dad had specifically told me not to tell anyone. In all truth, I hadn't really told anyone; they'd guessed on their own. Surely that didn't count against me. "I'm sorry, guys."

"But how did you know?" Percy gave me a confused look. "I don't recall him claiming you."

"He sent me a letter," I replied flatly.

"Well, cousin," Percy half-laughed. "Aren't you full of answers? Will you come back with us to camp? I can explain everything to Chiron. He usually understands when a child of Hades doesn't know how to function."

"It's a kind thought of you, Percy, it really is," I nodded. "But trust me, it's better if I stay away from Camp Half-Blood."

"That's exactly what your brother, Nico, did," Percy sighed.

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning at the mention of my half-brother again.

"Well, he didn't feel like he belonged at Half-Blood," Percy frowned. "If he'd have given the other campers time to get used to him, they probably would have loved him as a person. Just because your god-parent isn't the greatest of people, it doesn't mean you're just like them."

"You clearly don't understand my reasoning for not being at the camp," I replied, turning on my heel and facing the other way so that no one could see the expression of hurt on my face. "I can't really tell you guys where I'm going or why I'm going where I'm going. You're not allowed to know what I'm to do when I get there, and you're not to tell anyone you know who my father is. I'm probably already in jeopardy because you guys know."

The four of them looked amongst each other, obviously unsure of how to respond to that. Isabella nervously twiddled her hair in her fingers. Ferb shifted his feet on the ground. Percy watched them both out of the sides of his eyes. Perry glanced up at me with a concerned look on his face.

"It's my job to protect you," Perry told me. "I refuse to let you go anywhere."

"Perry-"

"Anywhere alone," he finished. "I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not. Don't argue. You don't have a choice."

"As are we," Isabella said, grabbing Ferb's hand and raising them together. Ferb simply nodded.

"And me as well," Percy said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I remember my first quest. I didn't go with permission either. Just lead the way, Phineas."

"If you guys insist," I smiled.

* * *

**In loo of last time's A/N- who's shirt off: Phineas, Ferb, or Percy? xD**


	14. The Half-Brother

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**You asked, I delivered: Ferb's shirt comes off ladies (whoo!). -AJ**

* * *

We set up camp for the night along the Newcomb River. Isabella used her amazing Fireside Girls skills to set up the tents that Perry had packed while the rest of us guys went to bathe in the river. It was pretty awkward to strip down to nothing and jump into a river with Ferb, Percy, and Perry, but I was given no choice of the matter. Bathe we must.

I pulled off my shirt and threw it on the ground next to Ferb and Percy's (and might I say, Ferb looked ripped with Aphrodite's blessing). The worst part was when I pulled my shorts and my boxers off, then jumped into the river to keep from feeling exposed. Luckily for me, Isabella didn't look and the other guys didn't care. Perry was being stubborn, so Percy shoved him in the river. I guess it made sense, though, him being a child of Athena probably gave him a slight fear of water. Percy, however, thought otherwise, as Anabeth wasn't scared of water.

"Not cool," Perry spluttered, resurfacing.

"Stop whining and take your bath," I said, shoving a bar of soap at him. "You smell like curdled milk."

"You would, too, if Poseidon had switched your human body for a platypus' body," he grumbled, taking the soap out of my hand and lathering it up in his hands. "No offense, Percy."

"None taken," Percy shrugged. He'd left his shorts on.

"Dude, why'd you leave your pants on?" I cast him a questioning look.

"My dad's the god of the sea," Percy laughed. "I don't get wet when I'm in water. My clothes stay perfectly dry. I can basically breath underwater, too. Use your head a little, coz."

"Speaking of which, how can I contact my dad to see if I'm going the right way?" I asked, curious to see if Percy knew.

"Just send him an Iris-message," Percy told me. "Now, there's no guarantee Hades will answer, as the gods don't usually answer to the demigods, but it's worth a try. Why?"

"Well, I don't know who this half-brother I'm looking for is," I sighed, scrubbing my own soap bar on my skin. "How do you Iris-message someone?"

"Well, you toss a drachma into the mist and say, 'goddess accept my offering,' then you say, 'show me…' and insert the person's name and where they are," Perry smiled. "Of course, you'd have to know where the person was at that moment."

"My dad would be in the Underworld, right?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It's a good guess," Perry shrugged.

"No one asked you, Perry!" I said, throwing my soap at him. He ducked underwater to avoid being hit, but I hit him anyways. My aim was just that good. "You were saying, Percy?"

"Perry was right anyways," Percy mumbled. "I was gonna say the same thing."

"Oh," I pursed my lips. "Where are we gonna find mist?"

"Hmm, I wonder," Percy cracked a smile. He raised one hand out of the water and a gentle mist began to come from his palm. I rubbed my eyes to see if I was imagining it, but sure enough, Percy Jackson was conjuring mist from his very hand.

"Whoa! That is so cool!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, we all can do stuff like that," Percy laughed. "Each of us have minor powers from our god-parent."

"Really?" I blinked. "What can we all do?"

"Well, I'd like to say Ferb has Charmspeak," Percy pointed a thumb at him. "He seems to be able to get anything he wants."

"No kidding," I chuckled. "All he has to do is blink and people hand over stuff."

"Yep, he has Charmspeak," Percy laughed. "As for Isabella, she probably can cause people to fall in love and stuff. Eros is the Greek version of Cupid. You seem to know more about him than you do Eros."

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Perry…" Percy cast a wary glance at the distracted platypus. "Children of Athena are known for their brains, wisdom, and impeccable fighting skills. I can confirm that he's a mean fighter. Don't hand him a sword when he's mad. He's no idiot either. But, as for the wisdom part…you're better off asking a child of Hermes. And they're never serious."

"Got it," I winked, trying to suppress a laugh.

"You, I can assume your powers off of your half-brother, Nico di Angelo," Percy smiled. "You've got a little bit of necrokinesis, umbrakinesis, and geokinesis."

"Can you use words I'd understand?" I frowned. "I'm only eleven."

"Okay, okay," Percy rolled his eyes. "Necrokinesis is the ability to summon and interact magically with the dead. You can put living people and dead people to sleep, you can kill creatures that hail from the Underworld, you have dominion over the dead, you can summon and communicate with the dead, you can sense when mortals and half-bloods die, you can tell if someone you love is in the Underworld and if they are being judged, you can send people to the Underworld with flaming fissures of fire, and you can release souls to the Underworld.

"Umbrakinesis deals with darkness and shadows. You can travel by shadow, and sometimes bring a ride-along by touching them, you can bend shadows to render yourself invisible, you can solidify shadows, and you can control weak dark energy.

"Geokinesis has to do with earth and stone. You can summon Stygian iron, you can manipulate rocks, you can cause tremors, you can control obsidian souls from the Underworld, and you can cause tectonic issues."

"Whoa," I raised my eyebrows. "That's cool."

"Yeah," Percy nodded. "Us children of the Big Three are powerful and most consider us highly dangerous. It's not easy being a kid of Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades. Monsters find us more easily than the others. We're targeted and blamed more often than other demigods. I was accused of stealing from Zeus."

"Really?" I stared at him, not able to believe that someone so nice would steal. "You didn't actually steal anything, did you?"

"No, of course I didn't," Percy said, half-laughing to himself. "But it's been hard."

"Ah," I bit my lip and sat there, unsure of what to say next. It didn't matter. Percy pulled himself out of the river and put his shirt back on.

"C'mon, you three," he waved a hand. "Let's see if we can get that Iris-message before we fall asleep. Nice abs, Ferb."

Laughing, I jumped out of the water and dried myself as fast as I could, then slipped my shorts back on before Isabella poked her head out of the tent. Unfortunately, Ferb had not been as quick, so he threw a towel over himself and grinned sheepishly. She blushed and hid back in the tent until all of us had completely dressed ourselves. (Not to mention located Perry; he'd run off after spotting a fish and Percy had to find him and bring him back).

On that note, Ferb went inside the tent with Isabella and it wasn't long before the two of them were fast asleep in their own separate sleeping bags (another smart idea from the mind of Perry). Percy led me out to the side of the Newcomb and handed me a few drachmas. Perry sat a few yards to my right, watching me skeptically. The plan was simple; Percy would simulate the mist, I'd Iris-message my dad, and I'd get the information I needed.

"You ready?" Percy cast a nervous glance at me.

"Yeah," I nodded. Percy closed his eyes and began to summon the water from the river. Dark clouds were gathering overhead. A storm seemed to be coming. Wind whipped through my hair violently. I took a deep breath. Mist sprayed gently from Percy's opened hand. He nodded at me. I took one of the golden drachmas and held it up in one hand.

"Goddess, accept my offering," I said, then tossed the drachma into the mist. The coin disappeared after it passed through. "Hades, the Underworld."

I watched as the mist began to form an image in itself. It was a dark setting, and I could see nothing but black and gray for a few moments. Then, I saw an empty throne. At first, I thought I'd failed to catch him, but when he walked into view and sat on his throne, something inside of me leaped for joy. He smiled at me.

"Ah, Phineas, nice to see that you have made it out of Camp half-Blood without arousing anyone's suspicion."

"Yes," I nodded. "Chiron does not suspect anything."

"Good, good," Hades grinned. "Now, what do you need from me?"

"How did you know I needed something?" I lifted one eyebrow curiously.

"Phineas, I'm your father," Hades laughed. "I know everything about you. Just by the way you're standing there and staring at me, I can tell that you need something. Go on, ask away."

"I'd like to know about this half-brother you're sending me to find," I swallowed. It was a little nerve-wracking that he knew that much about me.

"Yes? What about him?"

"Who is he? Where can I find him?" I asked. "I-if it's okay with me knowing that, anyways."

"Oh, of course you're allowed to know, Phineas," Hades said, almost as if it were silly that I mention it not being okay. "You act as if it's a bad thing to be curious. When in doubt, you are always free to ask questions."

"Thanks," I smiled sheepishly.

"So, to find this brother you need to back-track," Hades told me.

"Back-track? To where?" I blinked.

"To the Tri-State Area," he smiled. "Find a building downtown that looks similar to your step-brother's head. Your half-brother lives in the tenant."

The Iris-message ended there, leaving me curious as to why he wouldn't reveal the name of my half-brother. Perry leapt up and started freaking out. He grabbed his head and began to run in frantic circles.

"HEINZ DOOFENSHMIRTZ IS A SON OF HADES?!"

* * *

**Yeah, um, awkward. But I had to include Doofy. He felt so un-included. **


	15. Perry's Nemesis

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**Perry objects to my former chapter. -AJ**

* * *

"Y-you know my half-brother?" I asked, still unable to understand how Perry knew his name.

"Yes, I know your half-brother!" Perry said, exasperated. "Look, it's kind of complicated to explain. He was my nemesis while I was your protector."

"Wait, wait, wait, you had a nemesis?" Isabella frowned.

"Why does that shock everyone?" Perry sighed. "Yes, I had a nemesis that I battled on a daily basis. You want me to shock you more, daughter of Eros? Pinky has a nemesis, too!"

"What!" Isabella's eyes got wide.

"That's not the point, Perry, the point is how you know him," I huffed. "And now we know that you apparently had some dealings with my half-brother that weren't of the best kind."

"Still, he's evil, but not, like, Hades evil!" Perry threw his arms out.

"What do you mean, 'Hades evil,' Perry?" I stepped closer to him, slightly offended.

"Look, I'm not associating you in with your dad, but Hades is downright evil," Perry argued. "He's always been known for trying to overturn Olympus because he isn't one of the Twelve. He got stuck with the Underworld when Zeus got glorious Olympus and Poseidon got exotic Atlantica or what-not, and you're telling me he's not evil?"

"That doesn't even make sense!" Percy threw in.

"Quiet, you!" Perry turned and pointed a finger at Percy.

"Percy has a valid point, Perry," I shrugged. "That really doesn't make sense. It's…oh, what's the word?"

"Fallacy?" Ferb suggested.

"No!" I placed my hand to my forehead. "I mean, yeah, it is a fallacy, but that's not what I meant. It's an…an analogy that doesn't equate."

"Fair enough point," Perry crossed his arms grumpily. "But that still doesn't mean Doof's and Hades' personalities match."

"My personality doesn't match our dad's either," I pointed out. "I…might have gone into the Hades cabin and spent some amble time there. He's dark, and I'm bubbly and optimistic. It doesn't have to make sense."

"Fine, it doesn't have to," Perry sighed.

"Are you just trying to avoid having to confront him again?" Percy eyeballed him curiously.

"I- what? N-no!" Perry laughed nervously. "Me and Doof…we…we get along just great…"

"Mm-hmm," Percy rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's back to Danville with us, and I know just how we're gonna get there," I smiled. "Percy, remember telling me about shadow-travelling?"

"Phineas, you don't even know how to do that yet!" Percy stared at me wide-eyed. "Let's not get hasty and try and do ride-along shadow-travelling, okay, coz?"

"C'mon, Percy," I grinned. "Tell me you haven't done anything slightly insane in your life?"

"Oh, he has," Perry huffed. "And so have you."

"Then what's the worry?" I chuckled.

* * *

**Danger! Danger!**


	16. The Awkward Re-Acquainting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**It's Doofy time! I am such a Perry-Doof nerd...hehe. -AJ**

* * *

The morning brought us sunshine, happy chirping birds, and Perry's obnoxious snoring. Fortunately for Ferb and I, we were used to Perry snoring, but poor Isabella and Percy were so agitated that they started throwing everything in their arsenal at him to wake him up. He finally came to and threw something back at Percy. Ah, mornings. They were always so much fun.

Ferb cooked us some breakfast, and it was the most delicious thing I'd ever tasted. (Not to put down my mom or his dad, or even our grand-parents, but Ferb's cooking skills far surpassed theirs). Percy and Isabella gave him copious compliments. Perry proved easy to cook for as well; he swallowed everything he was given before asking what it was. I suppose having been a lonely nomad at once he had to learn to never be picky. We cleaned everything up and packed up camp.

The mission now was to find a nice shadowy area that was out of the public eye and meet up with Doof (as Perry frequently referred to him). Percy told me that an alleyway would probably be our safest bet. We walked through the city for about twenty minutes before we found the perfect alley out of the sight of everyone. Perry said something under his breath about 'hoping the mist would cover this up,' which didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

"Would you stop grumbling and just go with this?" I gave him a stern look and shoved a bag into his chest and turned to instruct the others. "Just for that, you can carry my load so I don't run out of energy."

"Son of Hades indeed," Perry huffed.

"What was that, Perry?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I said suck my-"

"I'm not an idiot, Perry."

"Just get this dang thing over with so I don't have to live in fear," Perry frowned. "You never know what lurks in the dark…"

"Don't tell me you're scared of the dark!" I tried to suppress a laugh. "Perry, for heaven's sake you were a secret agent! There's no way you're scared of the dark. Please tell me you're joking."

"I don't think he means the dark itself, Phineas," Percy interjected.

"What do you mean?"

"Spiders…" Perry whispered.

"You've got to be joking," I stared hard at him.

"Children of Athena are terribly terrified of spiders, Phineas," Percy said, defending Perry once more. "Anabeth explained it to me once. It comes from when a girl called Arachne challenged Athena. Athena turned her into a spider."

"Stop! Stop!" Perry grabbed the sides of his head. "Help! Oh, they're everywhere! Phineas what have you led us into?! Stop! Shoo! Go away!"

"Perry, there's no…" I looked down and suddenly saw what he was talking about. Hundreds, if not thousands, of spiders were crawling all along the sidewalk and along the walls. And they weren't just any spiders; they were black widows. "Keep your eyes shut, buddy."

"Get it over with," Perry cried. "Phinny, get us out of here!"

"Alright, everyone hold onto me!" I ordered. "It won't work unless you're all touching me! Perry…"

The terrified monotreme had latched onto my leg. I had to admit that he looked insanely adorable when he was frightened, but I didn't say anything, seeing as it was probably demeaning to say so anyways. Sighing, I tried to ignore the fact that he was crying like a baby against my thigh.

"It's gonna be okay, Perry," I rolled my eyes. Percy, Ferb, and Isabella all grabbed onto my arms and waited for me to transport us. I focused all of my thoughts on using the shadow to take us to the weird building that looked oddly like Ferb's head. The moment that I realized it was working, I almost screamed. Looking to my left and my right, I realized I could no longer see the others. I couldn't feel them either. Darkness had encompassed me. It had swallowed my body whole. Unable to continue looking at the emptiness, I shut my eyes tightly and waited for it to disappear. Moments passed, then something poked me in the shoulder.

"Phineas!" Isabella exclaimed. My eyes shot open. We were facing a wall. My nose was actually touching it, but that wasn't important. What was important was that the wall was purple, and Perry seemed particularly excited about the wall being purple. He jumped off of my leg and did a happy little dance. (It looked super strange…I decided now was not the time to question where he learned to twerk).

"Um…" I frowned. "Anybody else feel violated?"

"Yup," Percy nodded.

"There is nothing particularly attractive about a platypus twerking the air," Ferb blinked. "I for one would like to know who taught him how to do that move and why he insists on doing it while wearing a toga."

"Wait, when did he put a toga on?!" I did a double take. Dang, Perry.

"Purple walls! It worked! Oh yeah!" Perry sang, clearly ignoring everyone else in the room. He also didn't notice a man in a lab coat walk up behind him. The man gave Perry confused look, then looked up at us.

"Um, is he with you guys?" the man asked. He had a distinct German accent. His hair was a messy mop of brown strands. I wondered if this man was my half-brother.

"Yeah," I laughed. "Perry, snap out of it!"

"Another platypus named Perry?" the man raised his eyebrows. I snapped my fingers next to Perry's head. He went to give me a stern look, but then realized that the man was there.

"Doof!" Perry exclaimed.

"Do I know you?" the man squinted. Sighing, Perry pulled his fedora out and placed it on his head. The man gasped and jumped back, clearly terrified. "PERRY THE PLATYPUS?!"

"Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Percy; Doctor Heinz Doofenshmirtz," Perry rolled his eyes. "My…nemesis."

"Perry the platypus you can talk?" Doof blinked.

"Oh boy, here we go," Perry put his face in his hands.

"Look, it's nice and all that you guys wanna catch up and all, but Doctor D, you and I have to have a talk," I interrupted. "Our father came to me the other day and said I had to meet up with you."

"Our father?" Doof gave me a confused look. "What on earth are you talking about, kid?"

"Oh boy is right, Perry," I sighed.

* * *

**Perry twerking...don't ask...but it came from something to do with Optimus Prime and Perry having a twerk team...you know what...it's probably just confusing you more. Waffleman has the details. **


	17. And Then There Were Three

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**Time for the confusion to set in. And Perry; keep the language PG, man. -AJ**

* * *

"So, what you're trying to tell me is that we're half-brothers?" Doof frowned, not seeming to believe me at all. Perry was awkwardly sitting down and twiddling his thumbs.

"Yes, we're sons of Hades, the Greek god of the Underworld," I licked my lips nervously. "He sent me here to meet up with you, but I was under the assumption that you already knew what was going on."

"I obviously don't," Doof huffed. He cast a weird look at Perry. "But, does this apply to all of us here?"

"YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MIND TO CALL ME A SON OF HADES, DOOFENSHMIRTZ!" Perry leapt up, clearly offended by the remark. "I AM A SON OF ATHENA! OF ATHENA YOU SORRY, NO-COUNT, PIECE OF WHITE TRASH! YOU, YOU DA-"

"Perry, chill!" I grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him a little.

"Did you hear him?!" Perry pointed a finger at Doof.

"Yes, I did, and he's just clueless," I took a deep breath. Perry narrowed his eyes at me. "Just bear with him for me, buddy."

"Fine," Perry said curtly. But under his breath, he added, "But he better not call me that again or I'll whip his sorry-"

"Perry," I said firmly. He put both hands up as if to tell me that he was innocent of saying anything. I gave him a hard look, and then turned back around to Doof. "Sorry about that, he's…sensitive."

"Sensitive, my-" Perry started, but Percy clamped a hand over the platypus' mouth, shutting him up. Frustrated, Perry struggled to get away, pulling at Percy's hands and squirming to get out of his grasp, but it was to no avail. Percy was simply stronger than Perry.

"Anyways," I said, making sure to draw out every syllable. "It's just the two of us, but we're supposed to be on a mission from our dad, and I haven't the slightest clue where to start."

Now it was Percy's turn to have a moment. He dropped Perry, who instantly hopped up and started to say something, but was cut off by Percy throwing a hand up in front of Perry's bill.

"Do you mean to tell me that we are assisting you in a mission that could be the very ruin of Olympus?" Percy asked. I pursed my lips. "Phineas, I didn't think you were like that…"

"I…" I started, but Perry decided to throw in his two cents as well.

"Phinny, how could you?!" Perry bit his bill and tried to hide the tears that were starting to leak out of his eyes. "I-I saved your life! I brought you here! I've been your best friend for as long as I can remember! How could you betray us like this?!"

"Perry, I never meant to betray you," I said softly.

"That's what they all say," a voice came out of the shadows. A boy slightly younger than Percy stepped out. His hair was long and black, and he dressed like a goth would.

"Who…who are you?" I stammered.

"Percy remembers me," he said quietly.

"Nico di Angelo," Percy breathed. "Son of Hades."

* * *

**NICO TIME! :D**


	18. Of Monotreme and Yam

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**Major teaser chapter and also a random filler. Now, I warn you: when I wrote this, I was still thinking about Thanksgiving dinner. -AJ**

* * *

It's safe to say that Perry slipped away after Nico had walked in. Well, I didn't want to have to put it like this, but that conversation between us three sons of Hades was confidential, so I have to bother you with this side-story of what Perry did while we were discussing…what we discussed.

He managed to get into Doof's kitchen and rummage around in the refrigerator. I had told him earlier just to ask for some of the rations, but he insisted that it was okay for him to remove food from his nemesis' home. Either way, he made a ginormous mess out of it, spilling food everywhere and neglecting any manner of courtesy at all.. Crumbs littered the floor, wrappers and Tupperware were scattered across the room, and Zeus knows what the liquid he spilled on the floor was.

The most important thing to note was how he reacted when he found a small case of sweet potato casserole. Now, for years, my mom would give him the Thanksgiving leftovers bit by bit as the month of December rolled on. Sweet potato casserole was obviously his favorite, as he'd inhale the stuff the moment you gave it to him. Lucky for him (and rather unlucky for us), there was a huge tub of it in Doof's fridge. Grinning, Perry reached in the fridge and snatched it out, eager to down his favorite December dish.

He snatched up a spoon and started to down the casserole like there was no tomorrow. Now, a nice thing to know about Perry is that sweet potatoes are his crack. Maybe saying catnip is a better comparison, I don't know. All I know is that you give him yams, that platypus is higher than the sky. Like, imagine those high people you see in movies that are over the top and extremely stupid. That's Perry after he's eaten sweet potatoes.

To be fully honest with you, I'm not sure the exact amount of sweet potatoes and other yam products he downed in that time that we spoke, but I do know that he was acting super weird when we finally had finished. He ran up to me and asked me for a nail file, which, of course, I didn't have on my person. We walked into the kitchen for drinks and saw his mess. I think Doof almost had a heart attack then and there, so I explained to him the sweet potato problem and hoped he'd leave it at that. He just shrugged and blinked at me.

"Never knew he was so wild about yams," he told me.

The full aftermath of the sweet potato issue didn't hit us until that night. Doof gave us each a place to sleep, and Perry thought it was a great idea to sing Ferb, Nico, and I to sleep with 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' and his own remix of 'Oh, Susanna' as the fifty states. Nico put his earphones in and blocked out the songs, but Ferb and I didn't think to bring those when we'd left for Camp Half-Blood in the first place. The plus to it all was that Perry had forgotten about me 'betraying him.'

I twisted in my sleeping bag and tried to ignore the echoing voice that was Perry the American Idol pop sensation. (Well, if I was Simon, I'd personally walk over to Perry, pick him up by the scruff of his furry neck, and dump him out of the nearest window while yelling at him to stop gargling nails). Sighing, I pulled a pillow down off of the couch and placed it over my head. That blocked out most of the sound. (I could still here Nico snoring up a storm and someone farted really loudly…I bet I was Perry).. Sleep wasn't coming fast enough.

Frowning, I knew this was shaping up to be a long night.

* * *

**Yeah...Perry wasn't the high one...it was me.**


	19. A Night Among Demigods

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**I'm having waaay too much fun with this... -AJ**

* * *

It was a long night.

For starters, Perry talked in his sleep. A lot. Like, no jokes, the guy held an entire conversation with himself debating pizza and ice cream for about three hours, the whole time being completely asleep. Ferb was usually a quiet sleeper, but for some reason tonight his stomach kept growling. Isabella sang love songs in her sleep. Yeah, Cupid or whatever his name was made sense as her dad. Nico- I think I made it pretty clear that he snores like heck. As for Doof, he was in his own peaceful bedroom.

I lay there in my sleeping bag with my eyes fixated on the ceiling. As hard as it was to fall asleep, my tired eyes had almost willed themselves shut when Perry fell off of the couch and next to my head. Well, I say next to it, but his tail was covering my eyes. Frustrated, I shoved his tail off and scooted my bag over a little. Almost as if he was doing it on purpose, he rolled over and latched onto my arm. Okay, but that wasn't the worst part. He reached over, pinched my cheeks together, and started to talk to me like I was his granddaughter or something.

"You are the cutest little thing, yes you are- yes you are!" he cooed. I knit my eyebrows together in confusion and looked to my left. His face was right next to mine.

"Pewy," I said through my pinched cheeks. "Wait up, bubbeh."

"Yes, you are, you are Mommy's widdle cutie patootie!" he continued.

"Pewy!" I exclaimed, furrowing my brow even more. I grabbed him tightly by the wrist and pulled his hand off of my face. He then grasped my wrist and flipped me over onto his left. "You derp, let go!"

"Let's not get too rash about this, Karen," he murmured, giggling. He took one finger and stroked my arm with it. I could feel my hair raising.

"I have put up with way too much of this already," I sighed. I picked him up by the scruff of his neck and stomped out onto the terrace. Throwing him down, I took the opportunity to yell at him. "CAN YOU SLEEP LIKE A NORMAL PERSON FOR FIFTEEN SECONDS?!"

"Wh-what?!" Perry gasped, waking up and looking around, clearly confused. I didn't see Doof walk up behind us.

"Perry, I can understand your quirky personality during the day _occasionally_, but while you're sleeping is too much," I sighed. "Can you just promise me that from now on-"

Before I even could finish my statement, the worst of it all happened.

"_Baby, you light up my world like nobody else!_" sang a mechanical voice. Perry bit the bottom of his bill and started to search his fur.

"I bet that's Terry calling me…" he mumbled.

"_The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed!"_

"Just a second…" Perry grumbled. He patted down his sides. "Dang, where'd I put my phone at?"

"_But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell, you don't know, oh-oh; you don't know you're beautiful!_"

"Maybe it's in here…" Perry looked at me nervously and started searching in his hat frantically.

"_If only you saw what I could see, you'd understand why I want you so desperately! Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe, you don't know, oh-oh! You don't know you're beautiful, oh-oh! That's what makes you-_"

"Ah, here we go!" Perry exclaimed, hitting the 'send' button and putting it up to his ear. "Hello? Oh, hey, Terry!" **(A/N: I don't own "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction, nor am I a fan.)**

"Man, the things you wish you didn't know about your nemesis," Doof walked up next to me and shook his head. "I will never be able to think of Perry the platypus in the same way again."

"You're telling me," I mused. "I respected him for a while. Now that's gone."

Perry finished his phone call and smiled at us. He seemed pretty cool for a guy that just revealed to his friends that he liked a boy band. It was one thing for a girl to like boy bands; it was a completely different thing for a guy to like them, especially if that guy was a demigod.

"What are you two staring at?" Perry huffed. "Terry's nocturnal."

"Um, we're more concerned about the song your ringtone is set as," I swallowed. "I didn't know you were that kind of guy, Perry."

"Me either," Doof laughed a little to himself.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Perry said, taken aback.

"Boy band song," I frowned. "Really, Perry? Really?"

"I like that song, and I stand by its message to the insecure," Perry shot back. He crossed his arms. Opening his eyes again, he flipped open the phone again and started navigating through the menus. "I can play it again, if you like."

"NO!" Doof and I exclaimed in unison.

"_Baby you light up my world like nobody else!_"

"PERRY!" I shouted. Instead of taking care of this verbally, I jumped forward and tackled him over the edge of the terrace. The phone snapped shut, but we were now plummeting to the pavement below. "Crap…can children of Hades or Athena fly, Perry?"

"NO!" he said, as if I should know that.

"Well then," I huffed. "I'm not asking you anymore demigod questions. Percy's nicer anyways."

"Hey, at least we can listen to that song while we fall to our doom," Perry grinned. He opened the phone back up. "Best way to die ever!"

"Oh, here we go again…" I rolled my eyes.

"_Baby you light up my world like nobody else! The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed! But when you smile at the ground-_"

I batted the phone out of Perry's hand and it went sailing into the side of the building. He gave me a look of astonishment and looked sadly after where his phone had gone.

"Yeah, care more about the phone than your own life," I grumbled. He rolled his eyes, pulled a mattress out of his hat, and threw it down below us. I narrowed my eyes at him. Why couldn't he have pulled out a couple of parachutes or perhaps a hang glider? And why would he have just died _before_ I knocked the phone away? This night was shaping up to make no sense at all. We hit the mattress face on so hard that you could probably hear the impact from about a block away. Moaning, I rolled onto my back and stared up into the sky.

"_Baby you light up my world like nobody else!_"

"Ugh…" I slapped my forehead.

* * *

**For anyone that is a One Direction fan- sorry about that. For any that isn't- I'm sorry about that, too.**


	20. Perry's Perspective: A Moment of Truth

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**Back to the serious. I promise more fun will happen. But for now narrows eyes Serious. -AJ**

* * *

After I got Phineas to actually fall asleep, I tiptoed outside and remained on the terrace. I knew Phineas was up to something, but I also knew that it was due to finding out he was a demigod and discovering who his father was. How did I know that? Well, I had gone through the same thing.

I had been six when I'd found out I was a demigod, and now, thirty-five years later, I'm no better off than I was then. And yes, I did _technically _lie to them about my age, but saying that I hadn't seen my father in six years wasn't a lie, so if they based my age off of that, they were getting mixed information. Either way, being a demigod sucks, and Phineas is just now finding that out.

Sure, some people express how 'cool' it is to have powers like our god-parent, and others are just head-over-heels for Greek mythology and stuff like that, but none of them ever consider the fact that our god-parents aren't considerate enough to come see us. They don't treat us like real family. The only god that ever comes and talks to us is Hermes, and to be quite frank, he needs to stop trying to talk to me. Bringing me the fedora from my mom is one thing- trying to bond with me is a no-go. It's creepy and slightly unnatural.

So yeah, an immortal parent that could literally keep you from harm and see you all of the time can't stop by once and meet their lonely son. All I've ever wanted was to just see her. But does Athena care if I want to meet her? No, no she doesn't. Heck, she didn't even defend my case when Poseidon convicted me of treason and Zeus accused me of treachery. Sure, they were both right, but what kind of mom agrees with the attackers?

I don't know. Perhaps Phineas is just trying to escape it all like I was. Like, we deal with things differently, I guess. But something in my gut tells me that something's going to go wrong. As much as I hated it, my mother's wisdom was telling me to contact Zeus. Okay, maybe not Zeus directly; Chiron or Mr. D. I decided to Iris-message them. Turning on the hose, I sprayed it until a nice rainbow appeared. I threw in one golden drachma.

"Goddess, accept my offering," I whispered. "Dionysus and Chiron, Camp Half-Blood."

Their images appeared in the water, both solemn and worried. Chiron gasped a little and stepped forward.

"Pericles! Where are you?! Where are the boys?! Percy?! Isabella?!" he exclaimed.

"They are with me, yes, and Nico has joined us, as well as my ex-nemesis," I said quietly. "But I want to discuss Phineas."

"Why Phineas, Pericles?" Chiron frowned. "He's a good kid."

"He's the one that ran away and made the rest of us chase after him," I said pointedly.

"He was?" Chiron stepped back, aghast.

"Yes, yes he was," I nodded. "He ran away after a startling realization in the woods the night of capture the flag. He won't tell us why he ran away or where he's headed."

"What do you gather so far?" he cocked his head.

"He's Hades' son, Chiron," I drew a breath. "I don't think it's good."

* * *

**I thought Perry deserved a tiny bit 'o input.**


	21. Lunchtime With Lamia

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**Merry Christmas! -AJ**

* * *

We'd shadow travelled to California, where Nico, Percy, and Perry all told me the entry to the Underworld was. Nico obviously knew because Hades was his father the same as he was mine. Percy had visited on two occasions; to retrieve his captive mother and to dive into the River Styx. Perry refused to reveal how and why he knew, but he did hint at dealings with Persephone. Gross.

"Up there," Percy told me. He pointed at the Hollywood sign. "That means that we're here."

"Great, how do we get into the Underworld?" I raised one eyebrow at him.

"That's kind of easy," Percy licked his lips. "All you have to do is go to DOA Recording Studios and talk to Charon."

"Chiron?" I blinked.

"No!" Percy and Nico exclaimed at once. Percy blinked and bit his lip. Nico continued. "Charon. Not an 'i,' Phineas; an 'a'."

"Oh," I said flatly. "Sounds easy enough, then."

"Not nearly easy for the rest of them," Nico chuckled. "Us three children of Hades can get in quite simply. Them, on the other hand- it takes a bit for Charon to let them in. Not only will they each need drachmas, but they also need to be pretty convincing."

"Hmm, well, do they really need to come with us?" I said in a low voice. He looked at the other demigods and frowned. "Shouldn't it just be you, Doctor D, and myself?"

"I'll consider it over lunch," Nico sighed. "And then I'll give you an answer."

"Okay, then, who wants lunch?" I asked them.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Perry smirked at me. "Lunch is my second favorite meal! Let's go!"

Once everyone agreed to lunch (Percy seemed quite wary of the idea and Ferb just wasn't hungry), we headed off to a local restaurant named 'Lami's Lobster Living.' Originally, we had tried to avoid seafood for Percy's sake, but Perry demanded that he got some shrimp. Poor Percy just mumbled something about steak. The waitress came over to the table and took our orders.

"And what can I get for you in the fedora?" she grinned toothily. Wait, when did he slip that on? Sly little…

"I'll take a basket of popcorn shrimp and some fries," he said. "Say, do you have a discount for dashing secret agents?"

"No," she giggled, turning red as he gave her an over-sleazy look. She took a strand of her hair and started to twirl it nervously. "But I can ask if you want one, if you like."

"That would be awesome," Perry smiled, jouncing his eyebrows a little. The waitress stalked off still smitten.

"You are such a Casanova!" Percy chuckled.

"Yup, sure am," Perry responded, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head.

"Although I don't agree with you eating sea creatures," Percy grumbled.

"Hey, we can't all be Poseidon's babies, can we?" Perry shrugged. He sat forward and pulled a pack of sugar out of the basket on the table and ripped the top open. Waiting for Percy to come back with a snide comment or something, he dumped the sugar in his mouth and noisily crunched on the granules. "Man, that tastes good."

"Yep, he's a real charmer," Isabella rolled her eyes and took a sip of her Coke. Percy and I started laughing.

"What, you don't wanna piece of this, Izzy?" Perry frowned, spreading his arms out for emphasis. He made a goofy face and looked at me. "Oh, that's right- you only go for gingers with aerodynamic heads. My bad."

"His head is perfectly fine, Perry, and I love Phi- er, him, just the way he is!" Isabella defended, turning red.

"Phi?" I said, turning my head to her and casting a curious glance at her. "You were about to say my name…weren't you?"

"Um, I, well, you see, I was about to-" she stammered. Perry cut her off.

"Don't you lie, you were gonna say 'Phineas.' I know you were."

"Perry!"

"Hey, I've lived with him a long time and seen you all my life, I'm no idiot," Perry laughed. "You've been crushing on him for, like, ever."

I was about to respond, as was Isabella, when the waitress from before stalked back up with a scowl on her face. Perry frowned and seemed to be wondering what had happened since he'd flirted with her.

"The boss says no agent discounts, but she will take drachmas," the waitress said, narrowing her eyes.

"Real funny, chica," Perry whistled. "I believe we're fresh out of whatever those are."

"Don't lie to me!" she hissed. She slammed her first into the menu and scanned her eyes over the table. Perry looked down at the menu a second time and gasped.

"There's no kids' menu…" he mouthed to Percy, and then he underlined the restaurant's name with his finger. Percy's eyes widened. He pulled out a pen and uncapped it. A long sword shot out of it and gleamed in the lights that were hanging over the table.

"Tell Lamia that she's not eating these demigods," Percy told her, pressing the tip of the sword up against her neck.

"Poseidon's boy…" she whimpered.

"Where are they, Mormo? What is keeping her?!" a voice shrieked in the kitchen. "I thirst for their blood! I hunger for their flesh!"

"Lamia will devour you all," the waitress said, jutting her chin out. "All except for the agent. He's too old for her."

"DID YOU JUST CALL ME OLD?!" Perry exclaimed, leaping out of the seat. He reached in his fedora and pulled out a dagger that could easily serve as a small sword for him.

"Oh crap…" Percy's eyes got wide.

"Look, you, I don't know what you are, but no one calls Perry James Affleck old!" Perry threatened. "And just for that, I am going to put the hurt on you. I'm gonna put it on you real good."

"Here we go, everyone scatter," Percy ordered. We all ran out of the way and watched as Perry prepared himself to battle the waitress. But then, the doors to the kitchen opened up and an elegant woman with cold eyes stepped out.

"Don't leave, demigods- lunch has just begun," she cackled.

* * *

**Has anyone ever heard of Lamia? **


	22. Lamia, Devourer of Children

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**Last update of the year! Enjoy! -AJ**

* * *

"Um, Percy," I swallowed. "Can you inform us about this any further?"

"I'm afraid I've never heard of Lami…" Percy mumbled. He edged closer to the wall with me and we watched as she came out of the kitchen. "But it looks bad so far, right?"

"Lamia is a woman cursed to have the desire to devour children," Perry said through gritted teeth. "She doesn't want me because I'm over eighteen. The rest of you, well, you're fair game. Mormo is a vampiric spirit that can take many forms…this one being a waitress."

"Clever creature," the waitress grinned devilishly. Her body morphed into a mass of what appeared to be burgundy smoke. Perry waved his sword around and tried to fend it off, but we noticed that Mormo was slowly draining him.

"How do you kill a spirit?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Catch it in form," Ferb told me. "If Mormo chooses another form, then we can just slice through it with celestial bronze."

"Will this work?" I asked, pulling the 'U' out of my pocket. Ferb and Percy both gave me a questioning look, but I pressed the button on the side to extend the handle and they both let out a gasp. Isabella's eyes widened. "Celestial bronze is in it."

"Where did you get _that_?" Mormo mused. It backed away from Perry and let him drop to the ground unresponsive.

"Aha!" I smiled. "Scared of a two-pronged spear, are we?"

"Has anyone seen Mister Doofenshmirtz…?" Percy asked. He looked to his left and saw him and Nico sitting at the table watching the entire fiasco take place. "Okay, never mind."

Lamia took a cautious step forward and looked me up and down. She seemed hesitant to aid Mormo, but I wasn't sure why. Mormo, however, seemed deathly scared of my weapon. I narrowed my eyes in thought. Pressing the tip towards it a little, I watched as Mormo shrieked in fear.

"Please, prince of the spirits!" Mormo cried. "Do not send me back to Tartarus! It is an awful place!"

"What…?" I blinked. Nico got up and stood next to me.

"Hmm, Dad must really like you," he raised his eyebrows. "But, I'm going to teach you a neat trick, little brother. We can send creatures and souls down to the Underworld just like our dad can. Just tell them 'I afí̱ste ti̱n psychí̱ sas ston Káto̱ Kósmo,' and they should go."

"I-I afí̱ste ti̱n psychí̱ sas ston Káto̱ Kósmo," I said, focusing my energy on Mormo. It let out another ear-splitting wail and began to dissolve away from our sight. I straightened up and looked at Nico, who laughed and nodded.

"Nice work," he smiled. "And for your information, that spear is made of Stygian iron. It's a lot more deadly than celestial bronze."

"Cool," I said, getting a feel for it. Lamia came around to the front of us and bared her teeth like an animal would. Nico pulled out his own sword and waved it around at her. She packed up, feeling threatened. Percy jumped in with Riptide uncapped. We formed a semi-circle around her.

"Ah, little demigods," she cooed. "We have quite the assortment here today, don't we? A son of Aphrodite; those are usually flavorful. A daughter of Eros; hmm, a bit exotic tasting. Poseidon's boy; I really do enjoy seafood. And…three sons of Hades? They're usually bitter…but three of them? And one with an interesting twist, might I add."

She gave me a curious look. I swallowed and kept the spear pointed at her. Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure me out. It was making me nervous. What about me was so different that Nico or Doctor D? Perhaps she meant my colorful personality. That might be it.

"Well, we can't all be a daddy's boy, now can we?" I smirked. I thrust my hand forward, readying myself to try my hand at opening a fissure below her to get rid of her, but instead my energy flowed forward and rainbows of light splayed from my palm. Everyone turned to look at me. "Okay…that was…awkward…"

Percy took the moment and ran Riptide straight through Lamia's chest. She screamed at him in ancient Greek as she turned into a pile of glittering dust. We all stepped back and took a deep breath. Less interested in Lamia's ruins, Percy turned to me and worked his jaw a little.

"What the heck was that?" he blinked. "I don't recall anyone from the Underworld calling forth rainbows before."

"You think I meant to do that?" I raised my brow in shock. "I was trying to create a fissure! Unfortunately, the result was quite embarrassing, and if I could get embarrassed it would have had me running out of this place turning red."

"Well, I figured that you meant to do what had happened," Percy frowned. "Sorry for the assumption, I know sometimes powers work on adrenaline. Trust me, it's happened before. But that still doesn't answer how you did it."

"How should I know?" I sighed. "The only reason I know about Hades is because he sent me a letter saying I was his son and that he needed me to keep quiet about it before he claimed me."

"Which reminds me…" Percy mumbled, turning to Doof. "How could he go unnoticed by monsters? Children of Hades are Big Three kids, it's usually dire for them to live outside of Camp Half-Blood."

"That is an interesting question," I nodded. "Seeing as Hades sent me to find him."

"No, Hades sent you to find _me_," Nico corrected.

"What?!" Percy and I said at once.

"I have no clue about this Doofenshmirtz guy, then," Nico frowned at him. "If he didn't come with you guys, then I don't know what he's doing here."

"See why I questioned your logic, kid?" Doof pointed at me. "I'm no son of Hades. I know my father, and I know him very well. He hates me because of my mother. You see, his wife gave him a son named Roger. But me- I was the son of Nemesis. A minor goddess. So naturally, he'd love his wife's son more."

"Why didn't you say that before?!" Percy threw his arms out. "Are we dealing with a blooming idiot here?"

"Perry seemed to think that he was one," Isabella murmured.

"Hey!" Doof exclaimed. "Leave Perry the platypus' opinion out of this!"

"I heard that…" Perry groaned, putting one finger up.

"Shut it, you!" Doof narrowed his eyes. "It's your fault we're in this mess, you know. You wanted seafood, you couldn't leave Phineas' side, you couldn't this, you couldn't that, Chiron this, Athena that, 'don't touch my fedora, it's a gift from my mom,' and all that jazz."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Perry sat up and glowered at Doof. I went to stand between them, but Nico pulled me out of the way and shook his head. Perry hopped up and pointed his index finger at Doof warningly. "I have not endured heck to be mocked by a child of a minor goddess! And as much as I hate that I've never met my mom, I will tear you limb from limb if you _ever_ talk about her lightly again!"

"Guys, this is not the time for a demigod fight," Percy warned.

"What? Is the son of Poseidon a chicken? I thought for sure you were a fish," Perry mocked, making fish faces and pretending to swim. Nico stifled a laugh, earning a glare from Percy. "Oh, that's right, the Poseidon freaks aren't prepared for a battle of wits with an Athenian."

"Hold your tongue, monotreme," Percy said under his breath, focusing his hardest on trying not to slap the smirk right off of Perry's face. "It would be wise of you."

"Trust me, I know wise, Percy Jackson," Perry chuckled.

"Seriously, wasn't he unconscious?" Doof inserted.

"And I, Perry Affleck, know how to fight!" Percy said, slamming Riptide into the floor inches away from Perry. It seemed to unnerve him that Perry didn't even flinch when he'd done so. "Try me."

"My mother is the goddess of war strategy, as well," Perry said flatly. "We could do this all day."

"Walk it off, Percy," Nico said quietly. "And shut your face, Perry. We have to make it to the Underworld, and neither of you are helping."

Both glared at each other for a while, and then Percy pulled Riptide out of the floor and walked off towards Nico and myself. Perry growled and padded over to Ferb without taking his eyes off of him. I looked back and forth at them with my eyes nervously, waiting for something bad to happen.

"You're right, Nico, we have more important business to attend to," Percy huffed. He stalked past everyone and left the restaurant without another word. Isabella gave me a sympathetic look and followed him. I ran over to Ferb and sighed.

"This is getting to be really complicated, bro," I said.

"Well, rainbow-goth boy," Ferb laughed. "Sometimes life has to be that way. It'll all sort out, I promise."

"Rainbow-goth, Ferb?" I chuckled.

"It seems to go with the current demigod powers you have shown," Ferb smirked. "But what can I say?"

"You can say a lot of things, Ferb," I said, punching his shoulder in a playful manner. "That's why you're awesome, bro."

"Thanks," Ferb smiled.

"You ready to get your Aphrodite on?" I hugged him.

"Are you ready to get your Hades on?" he replied, laughing again. "Although that's an interesting thing to say, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes it is," I smiled.

We walked out with our arms around each other's necks. Ferb ruffled my hair jokingly and smiled at me. I returned his smile and walked with him out of the door. It was a nice way to end this leg of our adventure.

* * *

**Yikes, tension. **


	23. And Now- Apollo, Ares, Khione, Coeus

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**You think this is weird already? Hold that thought; it's about to get weirder. -AJ**

* * *

Lunch was rescheduled for that day, around one o'clock, on an empty hill in Hollywood. Doof, the least likely to attract monsters, was sent to find us something to eat. We were all sitting silently on the hill waiting for him when something even more improbable happened. The three people I was least expecting to show up showed up; Django Brown, a kid we'd known back in Danville, and, to an even weirder extent, Buford and Baljeet. They all ran up the hill and waved at Ferb, Isabella, and I. Django was the first to speak.

"Phineas, it's great to see that you're in town!" he exclaimed excitedly. "My dad's got an exhibition. Buford and Baljeet came with their moms. Irving came, too, but I don't know where he ran off to."

"Right here!" Irving smiled, popping up out of basically nowhere. Man, that habit of his was really creepy. "Where are your parents at? Are you just sitting up here alone with your…cousins?"

"I am not his cousin…" Perry growled, pointing a thumb back at Percy.

"You're asking for an appointment with Riptide, you know that, right?" Percy narrowed his eyes at the platypus. He tossed the pen up in the air and caught it again, almost as if he was silently warning Perry that when those four left, he was toast.

"We're…having a…picnic," I said, smiling wide. It wasn't technically a lie. I mean, I didn't tell them the whole truth, but I didn't say anything that wasn't true, so that was okay, right?

"But where are your parents, Phineas?" Baljeet questioned. "And how is it that Perry can talk?"

"I was born like this, don't insult me!" Perry whined, his voice cracking a little. Poor, sensitive Perry.

"I want answers!" Buford demanded. "I know you're too young to be alone."

"Buford, you're alone without adults, too, you know that, right?" I frowned. He gave me a look, trying to think of a way around my point.

"Hey, you sound like my echo, coz," Percy laughed. I turned quick and gave him a look. His eyes widened in realization. He wasn't supposed to have said that. Now's when it got even weirder. This very laid back guy shows up. He's wearing sunglasses.

"C'mon, everyone knows all you demigods don't need adult supervision," he grinned stupidly.

"Apollo, what now?" Percy blinked. I could sense that the two had met before. Perry's fur raised up on his back. Great, he doesn't like any supernatural being except Athena. This should be fun.

"Demigods?!" Baljeet exclaimed. "Apollo?! That is not possible!"

"Actually, it's quite possible," Apollo smiled. He walked over to Django and ruffled his hair. "How ya doin', pipsqueak?"

"Pipsqueak?" I mouthed to Ferb. He just shrugged.

"Great, actually," Django smiled up at him. He held up a slip of paper to Apollo and grinned. "I've been practicing. My stepdad says if I keep working at it, I'll be just as good as you someday."

"I'll say!" Apollo said excitedly. "Your poetry is astounding! And your stepfather is right, practicing will make you better. He treats you better than any step-parent has ever treated a demigod."

All the rest of us could do was stare at the two in utter shock. Okay, so I thought today couldn't get any weirder. This single event proved me wrong in one second. I turned to Django, speechless. He bit his lip and gave me a half apologetic, half questioning look.

"You're a demigod?" I said quietly.

"Yeah," Django nodded. He drew circles on the ground with his toe. "My mom died a long time ago, but Mister Brown took me in as his son after she died. My real dad told him to take good care of me. You're a demigod, too?"

"Um, yeah," I swallowed. "So, Apollo, if those who aren't demigods aren't supposed to see you, then how come Buford, Baljeet, and Irving are all staring at you?"

"Well, they're demigods, too," Apollo smiled. That smile really made me want to slap him. But, who in their right mind slaps a god? Okay, I take that back…if anyone would, Perry would. "That's actually why I'm here. I was sent to announce the claim of those three boys."

"Claim?!" Buford and Baljeet exclaimed simultaneously.

"Claim?" Irving piped up. "Does this mean I get to play dodge ball finally?"

"What? No, kid," Apollo laughed. His laugh was a very musical laugh, filled with mirth and cheer. "So, I'm gonna do this as formally as I can stomach, alright? Buford, son of Ares, Baljeet, son of Coeus, and Irving, son of Khione. Tada."

"What, no poetry?" Isabella raised her eyebrows.

"Don't encourage him," Perry said hurriedly. He stood up and walked near Apollo. Oh crapmuffins. Here we go again. "His poetry is so gay."

"Perry! That doesn't even make sense," Percy slapped himself in the forehead. "I mean, I know teens use it as an insult, but really?"

"Thanks, always glad to know that my poetry is happy," Apollo said dismissively. "However, I have been working on some elegiac poems. I hope they do well on Olympus- I haven't made it to the top twenty on sad songs or poems yet, but don't you worry, kids; someday Apollo will be rocking Olympus' socks off."

"Awesome!" Django shouted.

"Later dudes and chick," Apollo winked. He ruffled Django's hair again and was gone in a flash.

"My dad is so awesome," Django grinned. He turned to Baljeet. "Say, I know about Ares, he's the god of war. And Khione, she's the goddess of show. But who pray tell is Coeus?"

"Coeus is the god of intellect," Ferb filled in for us.

"That would make sense, as I know my mortal parent to be my mother, but do I not also have a mortal father?" Baljeet asked, confused. "My DNA matches them both, how can I have two fathers?"

"Perhaps one of your parents is a demigod," Percy suggested. "And you're a quartigod. It's possible, after all. They say that this can cause some demigods to have two godly parents. One immediate, and one from a demigod parent."

That's when it hit me. The rainbows back in Lamia's lair. I wasn't a freak of nature, my mom must be a demigod herself and not know it. One of her parents must not really be her parent either. This was getting confusing. But what god or goddess would produce rainbows? Certainly not…

Iris? Iris and Hades? You have _got_ to be kidding me.

* * *

**Phineas needs a demigod time-out, and Perry needs some duct tape for his mouth. **


	24. Percy Versus Perry

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**You wanted a demigod fight? Well, here goes. -AJ**

* * *

So, in the end, those four ended up staying with us. Now our party of seven is a group of eleven. Of course, it was only ten until Doof showed up. He brought us some bratwursts, which everyone but Isabella ate. We set up our camp for the night and gave Perry the job of starting a fire for us. (Although in hindsight, this was the worst idea of any idea I've ever had). He pulled out his flamethrower and began to set small flames to each individual log he'd collected. This was the first of ten mistakes made that very evening, and after that…well, you'll see.

Percy walked over to him. That was probably the second mistake of the evening. He asked Perry if he knew where the ambrosia was at. Third mistake. Perry told him bluntly (and with many an unkind word that I won't repeat) that he didn't know where the ambrosia was and he didn't care if Kronos himself had run off with it, he wasn't helping Percy look for it. Fourth mistake. Tired of Perry's smart-aleck behavior, Percy told Perry that he'd go ask someone much smarter and wiser than Perry for help. Fifth mistake, and let's get this clear; it's already looking bad from that comment, but it gets much worse.

Highly offended, Perry decided he'd one-up Percy by using the rudest names and descriptions one could possibly think of to describe Percy's mom and Poseidon and how Percy came to be. So yeah, sixth mistake; what did I tell you? Of course, we both know that Percy didn't take kindly to that, so he turned around and did something completely out of character; he flipped the bird at Perry and called him a stupid bird. For a seventh mistake…it wasn't any better than the rest. The last three were pretty much death threats, though. Perry swore he'd kill Percy and everyone he had ever known in ancient Greek; Percy pulled out Riptide and said he'd decapitate Perry, and then Perry pulled out his own sword and charged Percy, knocking him over. Putting his sword up to the son of Poseidon's neckline and furrowed his brow, his eyes flashed full of fiery anger.

"You've made a dire mistake, son," Perry whispered. He locked his eyes with Percy's. "Just because you're a son of one of the Big Three doesn't mean you're better than us. You'd be wise to put the sword down, kid."

"I'd like to see you make me," Percy said, spitting on the ground next to Perry's planted feet. Several others who were now watching the spectacle sucked in their breath when they heard this. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"There are very few people I don't hate," Perry narrowed his eyes. He pressed the sword against Percy's neck even harder, almost enough to draw blood. His jaw shook as he watched his sword run across Percy's soft flesh. I could tell that desperately wanted to sever something. "You, because you remind me of _her_."

"Who's…who are you talking about?" Percy stammered, thrown off a little. Perry's expression softened for a second, but then he brought his fist across Percy's cheek. Blood and saliva splattered out of his mouth. Mental note to never tick off Perry. His face contorted with the pain of some long ignored memory. He turned and walked away from Percy, thinking that was the last of it. "You…should not…have done that."

"Oh yeah?" Perry froze in his tracks and gripped his left hand around the hilt of his sword. Percy stood up and wiped some of the blood off of his cheek. He slowly walked over to Perry and prepared himself for an attack. "You think you can fight me?"

"Don't play games with me, old man," Percy licked his lips. "I might disagree with your assertion that Big Three demigods feel more important, but I sure as heck know we're stronger than you kids of Athena."

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Perry screamed. He swung around and thrust his sword forward at Percy. The rest of us took a step back. Metal clanged and the eerie reverberation of celestial bronze on celestial bronze rang in all of our ears. Perry twisted his blade upwards and flicked Riptide up away from Percy's stomach and made a quick slash across his unprotected stomach. I winced as I saw the blood start to trickle from Percy's open wound. He staggered back and clenched his teeth. "Far too long have they said that your kind are stronger. Are better. Are more fit for quests. Well, I'm about to prove everyone wrong."

"Perry, no!" I shouted, as he lifted his sword over his head and pulled it down towards Percy's head. At the last moment, Percy thrust Riptide up and knocked away Perry's blow. While Perry was caught off guard, Percy sliced him across the shoulder. More blood. "What do we do, Nico?"

"I'd stop them, but Percy's too evenly matched for me and Perry…I've heard stories about him…he was six and fought off, like, nine Empousa," Nico bit his lip.

"That story again…" I mumbled. "Is it true?"

"Yeah, it's true!" Nico half-laughed. He shook his head. "Dad told me it was."

"That's…we should get Percy out of this," I shook my head. Perry slammed the pommel of his sword into Percy's nose, and then pulled out a small dagger and shoved it into his side. "Now."

Wincing in pain, Percy pulled the dagger out and parried as Perry swung his sword back around. He knocked the sword clean out of Perry's hands and thrust the dagger into the soft flesh between his shoulder and his chest. The platypus yelped in pain and staggered backwards. Clutching his shoulder, he looked up at Percy and gave him the most murderous look I've ever seen.

"You make a heck of a lot of mistakes, son of Poseidon," Perry said through gritted teeth. "But that, right there, was definitely your worst mistake yet."

"Perry, leave him alone!" I screamed, but I was too late. Perry leapt up, latched his hands around Percy's neck and started to choke him. Horrified, I ran over and tried to pull Perry off, but his grip was too strong. Then it came to me. I needed a distraction. A huge one. "Ferb! Toss me the spear and a jar of mayonnaise!"

"Alright," Ferb said stoically. He picked up the requested items and threw them at me. I unscrewed the jar and tossed the lid away. Turning it over, I dumped the contents over Perry's head and backed up a little, prepping my spear in case he turned and attacked me next. Perry shrieked when the condiment seeped into his shoulder wound, and he let go of Percy to find something to clean it with.

"Y-you saved my life," Percy gasped. He sat back down on the ground and took in the air in heaping gulps. I handed him some ambrosia. "Thank you…"

"I found it in one of the sacks," I shrugged.

"But that's really something," Percy told me. I cocked my head. "I've never heard of a son of Hades just hopping in to save anyone's life."

"Stereotypes are overrated," I sighed, standing up and walking off to find Perry. He was sitting beside a trickling path of water, cleaning out his wound. "What is your deal? Why did you try to kill him?"

"I can tell you," Perry growled. "But you must swear to never repeat this…"

* * *

**Something isn't right about Perry...what could it possibly be, though?**


	25. Unseen Intentions for Insanities

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**What's up with Perry? He'll tell ya. -AJ**

* * *

"It was a long time ago, so long that I've forgotten exactly how long ago it was, but you simply need to know it was long ago," Perry began. "I was about fifteen when Diana Wilkins came to Camp Half-Blood. She was a daughter of Poseidon, back just after the treaty had been signed between the Big Three to not have any more demigod kids."

"So, the Big Three don't keep that promise, do they?" I frowned, considering myself and Percy.

"Not very well, no, but they have less than all of the other gods that have kids," Perry shrugged. "Anyways, she was the youngest child of Poseidon at that time. We became really good friends, and did almost everything together. After a while, I started to like her. And I mean _like_-like her. I couldn't live without her."

"In other words, you fell in love," I said flatly.

"Yeah, you could say that," he nodded. "But after I'd expressed this to her, we became an item, in your terms, and everything was perfect until Zeus took me away from her. He cursed me to be like this and sent me to be with you guys. I will admit, I did get something nice with something torturous. But, Zeus' curse left me with something, something I wish with all of my being he'd never have cursed me with."

"And what was this?" I said, leaning towards him a little more. He seemed to be having trouble telling me this.

"It…it's a complicated thing," Perry swallowed.

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, he gave me strength I was never meant to have," he said slowly. "Percy is stronger than me, yes, but Zeus' enhancement allows me to get out of hand- so much so that even a Big Three demigod can't subdue me without help. You got a lucky break by throwing me off guard."

"Wow, so he basically made you like, a juggernaut," I raised my eyebrows.

"I…do you have to use the word juggernaut?" Perry frowned.

"Yes, yes I do," I nodded. "It describes you perfectly."

"In what ways?" Perry whined.

"Hmm, let me think," I said. "Verbally, physically, mentally, and I daresay sexually."

"I'm a virgin!" Perry snapped at me.

"Yeah, right, like I'd believe that," I rolled my eyes. "Either way, the title juggernaut fits you, whether you like it or not."

"I suppose you do have a point," Perry narrowed his eyes, his tail twitching in slight annoyance. "So, you swear you won't tell anyone about this particular augmentation Zeus gave me?"

"So long as you swear to never use the word augmentation again," I raised my eyebrows.

"Seriously?" Perry sighed.

"I'm dead serious," I told him, folding my arms. "And if you don't like those terms, I'm not sworn to secrecy."

"Fine! Fine!" Perry said, finally giving in. "You are one piece of work, Phineas Flynn, you know that?"

"Oh yeah," I nodded. "I totally know that."

* * *

**If I was Phinny, I'd have slapped Zeus. **


	26. Fireflies

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**Yes...I wrote this while the Owl City song was stuck in my head. -AJ**

* * *

Camping that night was awkward, since Perry and Percy were no longer on speaking terms. I took the moment to sneak away from the camp and find a quiet wooded area to sit by myself. The spot I had chosen was amazing- one could see all of Hollywood down below themselves. I watched the lights and cars move around in a hurried fashion and quietly felt thankful for my peace and calm up here. My mind fell into a slight sopor, and I could feel myself nodding off.

Suddenly, my mind was awakened by a firefly flitting by. It danced in front of my face for a little while, and then it flew off behind me. I stood up and followed it over to a small haven in the midst of the trees. My eyes widened as I looked at the spectacle. Thousands, no- millions- of fireflies were dancing in a cloud of chaos. Their pale, yellow lights lit up the navy sky like undulating stars. I reached my hand up and tried to touch one, but none seemed to enjoy my presence much.

I walked into the clearing slowly and simply let my mouth hang open in awe at the beauty of the scene. It seemed as if all of the fireflies in the world had gathered here tonight and I was the only person in the whole world who got to see it. A gentle breeze blew through the area, causing the lightning bugs to fly in a frenzy for a few moments, but when the chill died down and the warm, humid air returned to its previous state, they resumed their mesmerizing gambol. I could feel the corners of my mouth gradually turn up into a smile.

This frolic soon took my mind along with it. I felt like dancing; no- leaping! Their freedom and lack of worry filled my heart with appreciation for the insect. It was as if the strings of a harpsichord were being gently plucked by angels' fingertips. The imaginary melody filled the night air with the sweet taste of heavenly music. I stretched my arms out and watched as the fireflies began to swirl in a vortex around me, as if I was of some importance to them or something. My laughter was filled with mirth as I observed them, spinning round and round in a dizzying ballet.

Without warning, I felt my feet being lifted off of the ground. I grasped for something to hold onto, but there was nothing but lightning bugs surrounding my body. Eventually, I stopped struggling and submitted to their control. It was a such a surreal moment at this point that I figured I had been dreaming the whole time. We floated along in peaceful abandon for the longest time, and I wasn't in the least worried about where they were taking me and how far away we'd gone from the camp. I was in too much of a somnolent state to give a care. Just as I was about to nod off again, they dropped me promptly in yet another small clearing.

In this clearing, the trees were thicker at the tops, leaving only a small circle open above my head for the moonlight to pour through. I looked around and saw that the fireflies were now performing their dance here, around a satyr in the middle who was resting on a stump with his back facing me. He paid me no mind at first. I took a step forward and watched as his ears twitched with curiosity. Biting my lip, I waited for his response. He said nothing, but rather lifted a hand and beckoned for me to come over to where he could see me. Slowly, I made my way over to his side.

"What brings you here this fine night, Phineas, son of two?" he said quietly.

I froze.

"Do you not have an answer for me, quartigod?" he pondered aloud.

"I, well, you see, the fireflies, they brought me," I swallowed. "Yes, they brought me to you."

"That is not at all what I meant," the satyr chuckled.

"Then what could you have possibly meant?" I asked him, narrowing my eyes a little. "If not how I got here, what else would you be asking?"

"I am not easily found," he smiled impishly. "I am Kaeto, son of Pan and grandson Hestia. I am also a quartigod."

"I…oh?" I said, biting my lip. "And…how, pray tell, did you know about me, Kaeto? I've told no one that I suspected being a quartigod. I also don't remember ever meeting you before."

"I have my sources," Kaeto replied, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh?" I raised my eyebrows. "Then who are my god-parents?"

"That is an easy enough question to answer," Kaeto chuckled. "Your direct father is Hades, the lord of the dead. And your mother's mother was Iris, the goddess of the rainbow."

"Alright, you've proven you're a good guesser," I shrugged. "But Iris hasn't claimed me. Hades has."

"I can claim you now if you like," a musical voice called out. A woman stepped out from behind the trees, dressed in rainbows of color. Her dress appeared to be made of light. My mouth fell open a second time. "Grandson, do not catch the fireflies in your mouth. It is quite unpleasant."

"And I have a feeling I wouldn't like that," Kaeto frowned.

"Trust me, dude, I have no intentions of eating your bugs," I laughed nervously and put my hands up. Kaeto smirked with a triumphant air about himself. Rolling my eyes, I focused more on Iris than him.

"Phineas, son of Hades, I claim you as the third quartigod in the history of the world," Iris smiled. She faded slowly from sight.

"Wait, wait!" I called. Her form became visible once more, and she stepped towards me with a slight bit of curiosity in her eyes. She cupped my chin with her hand and locked her pupils with mine.

"What is wrong, little quartigod?" she blinked. I noted that her irises were their own little rainbows of color, splashing her eyes with a certain mystique that made me instantly want to stare into them for hours.

"What…what is my purpose?" I blinked.

"Purpose?" she frowned.

"Yes, what purpose do I serve?" I asked her. "Hades says I must aid him, but the others say that he is only trying to start a war. Is it right to help him?"

"Your purpose is not mine to say," she said gently. "But I can reassure you that Hades is not out to start a war this time around, little quartigod. He is actually trying to prevent one. You must go to your father and tell him of our talk. Tell lord Hades that Iris has joined his side in the impending war."

"Wait, what?!" I exclaimed, but it was too late. She had already faded into a mist and disappeared for good. Kaeto had resumed sitting on his stump. "And what about you?"

"What do you mean by that?" he said gruffly.

"What are you gonna do?" I demanded.

"What a lonely quartigod always does," he shrugged. "Be alone."

* * *

**QUARTIGODS! I have defied le logique...**


	27. Hades' Test

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb**

**Okay, so bumping up the suspense a little. -AJ**

* * *

Just as I was dropped off back at our campsite, I knew something was amiss. Everyone had their weapons out and was in a ready stance. I ran in and pulled out my dad's spear and ran up beside Percy. Perry appeared on my left brandishing his dagger and sword from earlier. Casting a confused look at Percy, I finally worked up the guts to ask him what was going on.

"Percy…if you don't mind me asking…" I said in a hushed voice.

"They have us surrounded," Percy replied, not waiting for me to finish my question. "And we're insanely outnumbered…"

"Who?" I persisted. "Who's got us surrounded?"

"Demigods," Perry growled. He slid the dagger into a hidden sheath beneath his armor. "They all seem to be possessed, as if they're not here by their own will. This would be a bad time for a war to break out."

"War is going to break out regardless," I said quickly. "Iris told me so."

"Why on Olympus was Iris talking to you?" Perry snarled, glaring at me with a hint of animosity in his eyes. I met his eyes and frowned at him. "You're no better than the rest of us-"

"Perry!" Percy interrupted him. "Just because Iris visited him doesn't mean that the gods favor him to us!"

"Oh, like you can talk, fishy-boy," Perry snorted. "Poseidon isn't the only one that's paid you a visit. All I can say is I've met Hermes and been tried on Mount Olympus!"

"Burn," I said. They both turned their heads to look at me. "Oh, so I do exist between this hate relationship."

"I never said I hated Perry," Percy objected.

"Well, he's pretty darn right about how I feel about everyone," Perry narrowed his eyes.

"Shut up!" I exclaimed.

"Finally, someone had the nerves to do that!"

All three of us straightened up and started to look around for the unfamiliar voice. Of course, something in Percy's eyes told me that he'd heard it at least once before. I scanned the perimeter, and that's when I saw him. My dad.

"Dad?!" I smiled. He nodded and walked forward.

"I'll say, it's been quite a while since I've actually seen you in person," he grinned. He came over to us and both Percy and Perry gave a start. "And you've met Percy Jackson, I see."

"Yeah, he was helping me find the Underworld," I shrugged. Perry looked nervously from me to Hades. My dad gave Perry a blank look, causing him to jump a little. Not willing to show weakness, Perry pointed his sword tip up at him a little. "Oh, and this is Perry."

"Oh yes, I know him," Hades narrowed his eyes at the platypus. "Monsieur Fluffybottoms, correct?"

"Heh, you have no proof those letters were from me," Perry chuckled nervously. "And even if they were, what harm would they have caused?"

"Well, they didn't harm anyone physically, but you certainly didn't help the Harpies out," Hades smirked. "They spent weeks trying to find you in Paris, Versailles, and all the way up and down the Seine. Unfortunately, the little demigod jerk was at Camp Half-Blood the entire time. Honestly, why weren't you a child of Hermes? His personality suits you better than Athena's."

"Hey, you take that back!" Perry spat.

"Or what?" Hades prompted. Seeing that he had somewhat of a point, Perry's brow furrowed in thought. Suddenly smirking, he grabbed me by my chain metal shirt and pushed me down onto my knees. He brought his sword around my neck and pressed it up into my Adam's apple. Was he mad?!

"Or I'll slit his throat right here, and right now," Perry said through gritted teeth. I grabbed the sides of his sword and tried to pry him off of me, but it did me no good. He was too strong for me. "You wouldn't want that, would you? You wouldn't want a child of Athena killing a child of Hades?"

"Perry! Are you insane?! Stop this!" I gasped. I pulled even harder at the sword, but it only resulted in sliced skin. Hot blood trickled down my palms from my fingers and tainted his sword a little.

"Not until Hades takes that back," Perry spat.

"That's lord Hades, to you," my father said curtly.

"Dad!" I cried. "Make him stop, please!"

"Hades doesn't care about his children, though, Phineas," Perry said slowly. "He never has, and he never will."

"Dad!" I sobbed. Was Perry actually right in this? Did the gods really not care about their children?

"Go on," Hades whispered. "I don't think you really could kill him, could you?"

"Of course I can!" Perry said, his voice cracking a little. He pressed the sword into my throat more. I felt a drop of blood run down my shirt. Perry was actually going to kill me. "He…means nothing…to me!"

"Doesn't he now?" Hades smiled. My breathing picked up. Percy pulled out Riptide and went to hurt Perry, but the platypus pivoted us so that he could see both Hades and Percy.

"Either of you steps closer and you'll be planning his funeral!" Perry growled. Percy froze, seemingly conflicted about the situation.

"You can't kill him, can you?" Hades continued. Perry's expression hardened. I felt his grip tighten.

"Perry…" I sobbed. "Please!"

"You couldn't even harm him intentionally," Hades said softly.

"YES I CAN!" Perry screamed. He pulled the sword away from my neck and promptly shoved it into my side. I gasped with pain, too shocked to say anything; I crumpled to the ground, unblinking. Perry's bill quivered. "What have I done?"

"I mistook you," Hades said, glowering at Perry.

"Phineas…" Perry said quietly. He took a step towards me, but Percy fended him off.

"Get out of here!" he cried. "I don't want to see your face again!"

With that, Perry ran off into the woods, not looking back, and not looking forwards. One could hear his sobbing for a little while, but eventually, the sound of him ceased. As for me, I still lay there in shock on the ground, unable to think. He'd spared my life, yes, but death was still a possibility at this point.

* * *

**D:**


	28. Accidental Admittance

**Short little chapter, but I hope you guys like it. -AJ**

* * *

The next thing I knew, I was lying face-up on a mat inside one of our tents. Someone was moving around near me, but I couldn't tell who. Pain streaked through my side. What had happened again? I couldn't remember. All I knew was that I was in intense pain. Suddenly, I could feel someone dabbing my forehead with a wet cloth. I groaned.

"Shh, everything's gonna be okay," came the voice. It was a female's voice. Isabella!

"What happened…?" I moaned. My vision started to clear up, and I could see her sitting beside me on the mat with ambrosia near her and the bowl of water in her hand. She left the cloth on my head and sighed.

"You don't remember?" she frowned. "Apparently Hades tested Perry's nerves a little. The poor guy lost it and stabbed you in the side. It's a pretty deep wound; he hit some of your vitals."

"Oh, Perry!" I cried. She motioned for me to keep my voice at a low tone.

"Quiet!" she hissed, not really intending to come across as rude. "The entire camp is surrounded, remember? Percy, Nico, and lord Hades are all in another tent discussing how to fend them off. Apparently a war has broken out."

"I know," I grumbled. "Can you find a better word for apparently?"

"Ostensibly," she huffed jokingly. We shared a laugh, even though it hurt me to do so. "But seriously, now. You knew about the war?"

"Yes, but I was on my way to tell you when all of this happened," I said, spreading my arms out wide. I instantly regretted it, as the pain increased with my movement. "Gah…"

"Lay back down," Isabella said firmly, pressing on my chest a little.

"I'm hating this already," I sighed. She giggled a little as she fiddled with my bandages for a moment. "I mean, I can't move until I heal up completely, can I?"

"Well, preferably not," she admitted. "But if you're needed in combat, then we have no choice but to call for you. You're a child of one of the Big Three; your powers are much needed."

"You sure I'm not dampened by being a quartigod?" I asked her. She gave me a hard look. "What?"

"Wait, you know you're one for certain?" she blinked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Don't tell anyone, but Iris claimed me as well."

"Oh?" she lifted an eyebrow, intrigued. "Well, don't tell anyone, but, in case this battle goes on for too long and stuff, it's fair to let you know that I love you."

"I love you, too," I laughed.

"Not like _that_," she emphasized. My eyes widened. She blushed and handed me the ambrosia. "Erm, I have to go, um, Irving's tent is about to capsize.."

She ran out without another word. I couldn't believe this. When she'd told me that she'd had a crush back in Danville, I'd thought she'd meant he'd _stayed_ in Danville. I'd thought she meant someone else. But this was a totally different thing now. She had her heart set on me. How could I have been so blind? Maybe it was her hair. Or her eyes. It could have been anything about her beautiful figure that had distracted me from the truth. Wait…do I have a crush on _her_?

Then I realized that unless Irving's camping on water…tents don't capsize.

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**C'mon, you two. xD**


	29. The War

**Yeah, so...smoothly going now. My school laptop has been blocked from my one quick'n easy way of updating. Sorry about that, ya'll. -AJ**

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Ferb helped me get on my feet to attend a private meeting with my dad. It was, granted, kind of awkward to have him holding me so close and under my arms, but I had no choice. The injury was taking its toll on my body, and no amount of ambrosia could numb the pain it was causing me. He helped me hobble all the way up to a tent Hades had pitched up and brought me inside. There he was, the lord of the dead, sitting in a large chair and waiting for me. Ferb sat me down in a chair across from him, nodded to me silently, gave Hades a curt bow, and then left us alone.

"Finally," Hades said. "A chance for us to be alone."

I shifted a little in my chair and tried not to cringe as my wound screamed out in protest. Hades stood up and began to pace around the room, much like a lion would with his prey. I wasn't sure if this meeting was a good one or a bad one, now. He came and stood in front of his own chair again and looked down on me.

"Don't be so tense, son, you'll hurt yourself even more," he frowned. I relaxed myself a little bit. "Hmm, that's better. Now, onto more important matters. We need to discuss the war that is potentially going to happen."

"Yes, I was informed about a war by another quartigod," I said slowly. "He was with my grandmother, lady Iris."

"Oh, is that so?" Hades hummed. "My, you have two polar opposites in you."

"Well, lady Iris said to tell you that she was joining your side in the war," I told him, straightening up a little bit in my chair. My side flared up in pain again.

"Interesting," he mused. He sat back down and looked me in the eyes. "But they didn't tell you why there was war? Whom the war was between? Nothing of that sort at all?"

"No," I shook my head.

"Ah, see, that is what I'm going to tell you now," he smiled a little. "This war, for once, is not being started by me. No, actually, it is another equally scandalous god. I'm sure you're familiar with him- Buford's father?"

"Lord Ares?" I blinked.

"Yes, yes," Hades nodded vigorously. "He's the god of war, so it would make perfect sense that he'd want war. But he's pitted his war against the demigods, this time. The demigods that aren't his own children."

"So, it's him and his demigods versus everyone else?" I said, cocking my head a little in confusion.

"Oh no," he said hurriedly. "Hera is also on his side, granted she hates having to work with his demigods. She hates all of you, I'm afraid. Just be lucky you aren't a son of my brother, Zeus. She'd give you heck for it. I also believe that Nemesis is on their side, and some of the other minor gods and goddesses who boast destructive powers. So, I'm trying to start a force in support of the demigods."

"Have any of the other gods or goddesses taken sides with you?" I asked him. His face grew dark.

"Iris is the first, I'm afraid," he shook his head solemnly. "But since she's joined, I'm hoping she will request for others to join in. She can be influential in her own ways, you know."

"Maybe we could try and get the others to recruit their parents," I suggested. "Do you think a direct plea for help will convince them to greatness?"

"It's worth a try, but I'm afraid that might be difficult," he frowned. "The gods don't usually communicate with their children. But, it's safer to try than to stand here and let Ares' army pound us to pieces, am I right?"

"Yes, sir!" I said, smiling a little. He walked over and picked me up in the chair.

"I'm going to take you outside for some fresh air and the chance to tell everyone your idea," he explained. It was still pretty awkward. Man, two awkward situations in one day. I should get to bed, now…

He took me to the center of our camp and set me down in the tent that everyone gathered in for meals. All heads turned to us, and they cheered, happy to see me out of bed for once this week. Irving ran over and asked for a high-five. I laughed and let him have it. Questions started to erupt from the crowd of friends, but Hades cleared his throat and silence fell over them.

"You all know the recent event in which we've been trapped here," he said slowly. "It is the result of an oncoming war in which Ares plans to try and wipe out all demigods who are not his own. Now, Phineas here has devised an idea that might aid us, so could you please listen up for a moment?"

"Thanks," I nodded, turning a little red. Everyone's eyes turned to look at me. It was just like back home in Danville. Everyone was waiting to hear my big idea. "Alright, I need everyone to fervently try and contact their god-parent for help. I know some of us have never met them, or tried to talk to them, or have given up trying. But we need all of the help we can get. Plead to them to join, Hades, Iris, and their demigods. We can't let them have their massacre, all of our lives, save Buford's, are on the line here!"

Silence remained over the tent. Some people shifted their feet a little, seeming uneasy about the request. Nico smiled at me a little. Ferb blinked, not showing any emotions at all. Percy suddenly stepped forward.

"You can bet that you won't see me stop until my father's on our side," he said, raising Riptide to encourage the rest to greatness. "No doubt, Poseidon will come to our aid!"

"I'll get in touch with Aphrodite, then," Ferb said quietly.

"And I will call for Eros!" Isabella piped up, giving me a huge grin. Man, she looks hot- oh, wait…you weren't supposed to read that.

"Perhaps I can get Nemesis to respond," Doof shrugged.

"I will not give up until Coeus is standing right here!" Baljeet exclaimed. "I will no longer doubt my heritage!"

"I'm _so_ calling up my dad!" Django grinned. He waved another slip of paper in the air. "Plus, I can't wait for him to read my poetry I wrote this morning! Apollo will be on our side in no time! And perhaps my aunt, Artemis, too!"

"Showoff," Irving rolled his eyes. "Well, I suppose I'm contacting Khione."

"And just to show my loyalty to all of my friends, I have decided to side with them over my own father!" Buford said gruffly. Everyone turned and gave him a quick smile. "I don't wanna be a cat-kid…"

"Great!" I said, pumping my fist in the air a little.

"Don't forget about Athena," a girl said, walking through the door. Percy ran to greet her.

"That's amazing, Anabeth!" he smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"We are totally not going down without a fight," I smiled.

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**I had to pull Anabeth in there after I tossed Perry out of the window...I know, I know...**


	30. Perry's Perspective: A Prophecy

**Wheee...yeah this chapter is...yeah. -AJ**

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I ran. That's the best way to describe what I did after I realized what Hades had tricked me into doing. I'd hurt one of the most important people in my life, and now he was probably on his deathbed. What else was there for me to do? I knew life could be unpredictable for demigods, but he didn't deserve to die because I made a stupid mistake and refused to look weak in front of the lord of the dead.

After so much running, though, I grew tired and just dropped to my knees, sobbing my heart out. As I pulled my hands away from my hands, I realized that some of his blood had dripped onto them as I'd stabbed him. This only made me sob harder. Life was truly unfair. I couldn't have anything to love, could I?

It was my fault. It was always my fault. I ran away from my poor father. I'd rejected nearly every other demigod I'd met. I'd done the stupidest things to tear me away from my love. Now, I'd practically killed my best friend. That felt worse than spitting on Zeus' feet. I threw my hands on the ground and stared at it. I'd fallen next to a small stream of water. Clutching the grass and mud in my hands, I dragged myself forward and looked over the bank into the water.

Painfully, I stared into my reflection. Everyone else who saw me- they saw a platypus with little to no concern for anyone but himself. When I looked at myself, though, or rather my reflection, I saw something completely different. I saw the face I was born with. I could see my human face; the blond hair, the blue eyes, the pale skin, and even the clothes I was wearing when Poseidon cursed me. That was part of the curse, though. Every time I looked in a mirror, I would be able to see myself as I was supposed to be, but I would never be able to be that.

"Look what you've done with your life, Perry Flynn."

I turned a little to my left and locked eyes with the one person that I never wanted to speak to again. Poseidon. Trying not to snarl, I held the gaze until he looked away. He came up closer behind me, so I turned my head back in front of me, my eyes fixated in the distance and my fists clenched so hard my knuckles had turned white. He came to a stop just over my left shoulder and looked down at me.

"What do _you_ want?" I said through my teeth.

"There is a war starting," he said quietly. "And my son, Percy, has called for me to come to his aid. I just want to protect all of the demigods you're trying to kill."

"Who told you I was the one stirring things up?" I growled. He smirked and laughed a little. "Oh, some of us came to that conclusion. Chiron tipped me off that you were snitching on one of Hades' sons. Athena read your thoughts. And Ares can't keep his mouth shut. He's so grateful for your idea to annihilate all of the demigods. Hera is almost praising you."

"Hera approves of me?" I frowned, looking up at him.

"Sort of," he shrugged. He sat down next to me and looked into my reflection as well. "What I want to know, though, is why you're doing this. You yourself are a demigod. Your best friends are demigods. Why kill them all?"

"It's a spite thing," I said slowly. Poseidon tilted his head a little and narrowed his eyes at me. "Athena will side with Anabeth, naturally. She'll side with the demigods who saved Olympus. My deed is done when she agrees to that."

"So, you're sacrificing all of your newfound friends just to spite your mother?" Poseidon sighed. "That's quite a gamble, you know."

"What's your excuse?" I said, turning to face him. "I pick on a few Cyclopses and you turn me into this! Do you have any idea what it's like to be a platypus? Do you?! Do you?!"

He remained silent. I stood up quickly and threw my fedora down into the water.

"DO YOU?!" I screamed. He took a deep breath and watched my chest move in and out as I breathed heavily. His eyes then locked with mine and stared intensely into them.

"I do not have an idea," he said quietly. "But here's what I do know. I know that deep within your hard, twisted outside, there is a heart inside of you. That heart may be nearly impossible for even Aphrodite to reach, but it exists."

"Y-you," I said, trying to hold back my tears. It was no good. They began to flow out of my eyes like the River Styx. I pointed one finger at him accusingly. "You have no right to say anything to me! None of you pointless gods do! In fact, I-I don't need any of you to help me live my life! I don't need your stupid gifts, your dang blessings, your idiotic prophecies, or your moronic guidance! That's right! I don't need any of you. Especially not Athena!"

"I have never had sympathies for Athena," Poseidon said morosely. "Not until now, that is."

"As if I'll ever believe anything you immortals have to say," I spat. "And just to spite _you_ Poseidon, here's saying I nearly killed your pathetic son! That's right, fish-lover; I tried to murder Percy Jackson!"

"I know Zeus gave you a powerful curse, but that gives you no right to take it out on my son!" Poseidon said, a rage filling his voice. I stood there, unflinching. I stooped down and picked up my fedora. Reaching inside, I pulled out a blade of celestial bronze and held it out in front of me. I placed the fedora back on my head. "You don't want to fight a god, Perry. That's not very wise of you."

"Percy was easy enough to kill," I said dryly. "If Phineas hadn't interfered, he'd be dead right now. What makes you think it'll be any different for me to try and kill you?"

"Your powers do not match that of mine," Poseidon warned.

"I'll take my chances," I said, narrowing my eyes and standing in a ready position. "I do not plan to die today."

"None do," he told me. "I will not fight you."

"Why not?" I hissed.

"Because I _would_ kill you," he said softly. "But just as the Oracle has told you; _When war has begun, and time is nigh, the leader of it all will surely die_."

"The Oracle spoke; it does not mean it pertains to me," I said, twisting the hilt of the sword in my hands. "I'm a firm believer that even her words won't come true if you try to change it."

"And that is where your folly sets in," Poseidon warned. "You try to fix it, but that is what causes your destiny to meet her prophecy! Do not forget the words of the Oracle."

With that, the god of the seas was gone. I was left alone in the middle of the forest again, reminded of my deeds and faced with a decision. It was either continue down the path I was on, or change my heart and support the demigods. It was a difficult choice, to be honest, but I made up my mind quickly. Turning on my heel, I sprinted off into the forest, knowing what I had to do.

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**So...what is his decision?**


	31. Impaired

**Just to fill in some time. -AJ**

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"Gosh, Phineas, you're more stubborn than Blackjack when he's getting apples taken away from him!" Percy remarked. He put more alcohol on my wound and held the sponge to my side. I clenched my teeth together even more. "You know it's got to be cleaned, don't resist it."

"Easy for you to say," I said, straining to keep from jerking away from the burning sensation. "You didn't have a cursed demigod shove celestial bronze into your side."

"True, but he did try to kill me," Percy pointed out. I nodded and clenched the sheets I was laying on. This injury wasn't getting any better, and there was an impending war. I'd started breaking out into high-grade fevers and at the moment I was pouring sweat. "Face it, Phineas, you won't be able to fight unless a miracle happens."

"Will I live?" I said, my breathing picking up.

"We can't be sure," Anabeth said gravely. I'd forgotten she'd been in this tent the whole time Percy was tending to me. "Celestial bronze can kill demigods. Your wound's pretty bad, from the looks of it. What happened, again?"

"Remember Perry?" Percy said, looking up at her. She nodded. "Yeah, he decided to be a moron and be a smart mouth to Hades. So, Hades tested him. He fell hard. Hades wanted to see if Perry truly loved Phineas as a brother; the unfortunate result lies before you."

"He didn't kill me, though," I coughed. Percy sighed.

"That's not the point, Phineas," he sighed. "The point is that Perry _tried_ to kill you and proved that he's not worth keeping around. Seriously- do we really need an unstable demigod around camp that could unthinkingly kill any of us at any given time?"

"But you saw the look on his face," I objected. "He regretted hurting me after he'd done it. He didn't want to hurt me or kill me. He just wanted to prove to Hades that he wasn't weak, which, sadly, wasn't the test."

"You put too much faith into him," Percy said solemnly.

"He could be right, you know," Anabeth suggested. Percy seemed to consider this for a moment. "Perry might have misinterpreted Hades. If the platypus returns to us, then we'll know he feels remorse. If he doesn't, we'll know otherwise."

"Y-yeah," I nodded. Percy began to rip up a cloak and tie a complicated tourniquet around my gut. That was all we could really use for bandages. I grabbed for my shirt, but Percy shook his head.

"Leave it off, buddy," he told me. "You're almost hotter than Helios. If there were no girls at this camp, I'd have you pull off your boxers and be in nothing…"

"Thank the gods," Anabeth chuckled. "I don't need to see anyone without their undergarments on."

I just laid my head back down and tried to take my breaths slowly. Hades had promised that he'd try to get in touch with Asclepius, the god of healing, as soon as possible to see if there was any way I could be healed. The ambrosia just wasn't cutting it. I turned my head a little to look at Percy.

"H-have any of them responded, yet?" I said weakly. He nodded to me.

"Poseidon is coming," he said quietly. "As is Athena. I think Coeus is on his way; and Apollo and Artemis. With any luck, we've got Eros and Aphrodite. Khione turned us down, though…"

Closing my eyes, I hoped for the best. That's all I could hope for, really.

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**Will Phineas ever heal?**


	32. Putting Aside Fear

**This WAS gonna be about preparing for battle. I think you'll like the change of topic :) -AJ**

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When I woke up, my side was screaming at me. The agony of the injury wouldn't leave me, and from what Asclepius had said, it would bother me for the rest of my life. He told me I shouldn't fight in the upcoming war, but I couldn't back down; I was practically the backbone after making the wild suggestion of trying to bring the gods on our side. Naturally, I was really letting Percy do the leading, but my friends had plastered my face on the operation. I grabbed onto a nearby table and pulled myself to my feet. A streak of pain shot up my ribcage.

"Gah…" I breathed, unable to say anything intelligible. Dropping back down to my knees, I took in a few deep breaths, trying to psyche myself up. Once I'd deemed myself ready to stand, I pressed down on the table and tried again. My legs wobbled beneath me, trying to support my weight after days of lying down. I took my breaths in slow and steady, determined to do this. Using the table for support, I hobbled over to the place where my jean shorts were sitting in a pathetic heap. Each step I took sent another wave of pain went from my injury up into my armpit.

Upon reaching my shorts, I simply let myself fall back down onto the ground. Of course, the soft blankets I'd been relaxing on weren't over here, so I hit hard ground and prickly grass. The itching sensation of cut grass instantly began to run up and down my bare skin. Suddenly, the want for clothing made more sense. I reached out, straining my arm muscles to stretch across the ground and willing my fingers to feel the rough, yet at the same time soft, surface of denim. When they met the tip of the shorts-leg, I curled my fingers around it and pulled the pair of shorts closer to me.

I dragged my body over to the leg of the table and slowly propped myself up against it. My thin frame came in contact with the rugged wood. The splinters along the leg poked my naked back, taunting me and trying to get me to move away from it. I was too determined to get my shorts on, though, and I bent over to pull my legs into them. As soon as I'd leaned forward about thirty degrees, the pain from my wound flared up, burning like an inferno in my chest and throughout my stomach. Unable to suppress it, I let out an involuntary shout. Clenching my teeth as hard as I possibly could, I leaned even further forward and pulled the shorts up my legs. I struggled to pull them all the way up to my waist, and then I buckled and zipped them up. Once I was certain my shorts were on, I leaned back against the leg of the table and groaned. By clenching my teeth together, I'd now produced a splitting headache.

For a moment, I just sat there in my misery. I could feel the tears of pain streaming down my clammy cheeks. Sweat from stress, fever, and over-exertion of unused muscles was accumulating on the bridge of my nose, my forehead, and down my exposed chest. The 'bandages' Percy had dressed my injury with were still tightly drawn about my mid-section. A little blood had seeped through; I assume from tossing and turning at night, the wound had broken open again. Closing my eyes, I tried to think of happy, positive things.

A cool breeze blew through the tent, ruffling my messy, knotted hair and toning my fever down for a moment. I took in a deep, pained breath, taking in the refreshing, cold air. It washed over my body, giving me a cooling sensation and a brief moment of respite. For that infinitesimal second, I felt like nothing could go wrong. Everything seemed to be alright. I felt at peace.

The moment had been fleeting, though. Just as soon as that serene breeze had come, it had left me. Heat flooded back through my veins like a river of fire. Pain seeped back into my body, reminding me of the fatal state that I was in. I began to breath at a normal pace, taking in the hot air around me in smaller increments than I had taken in the cool, fresh air. That's when I decided that it was now or never; I was going to get up and keep going even if it killed me. My friends needed me. The name 'Phineas Flynn' and the description of 'self-serving' didn't go together. Pain or no pain, I had a job to do, and nothing was going to stop me from doing it.

Throwing my hands up over my head, I grabbed onto the edge of the table and pulled myself up. The gravity pushing me down didn't want to give up its hold on me, and the wound in my side shrieked in agonizing pain. On second thought, it would have been smarter to turn around and pick myself up. I forced myself onto my feet and stood there for a moment, grasping the table in my hands until my knuckles went white while I waited for the rush of my blood to my feet to stop. Lightheadedness came over me for a split second, but then it was gone again. Slowly, but surely, I let go of the table finger by finger. I stood on my own for a second, battling the pain and the weakness I was feeling. Licking my lips a little, I took a step forward and wiggled my toes a little.

"Phineas!"

I turned my head sharply to my right to see Isabella standing in the entryway of the tent, a look of horror and shock on her face. She ran over to me and gave me a pointed look. It told me that I wasn't supposed to be standing; she didn't have to tell me a thing.

"Yes?" I blinked. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair.

"You know good and well that you aren't supposed to be standing up," she said quietly, trying not to get angry or cross with me. I wiggled my toes a second time. She took no note of it and kept talking. "Isn't that what we've been trying to keep you from doing this whole time? Even Asclepius agrees you shouldn't be on your feet."

"I understand that," I told her. I took another step forward and winced. Isabella let out a gasp and stood there, conflicted about whether or not she should help me or not. "But even Asclepius knows that sometimes you get tired of resting."

"True, but, Phineas, if you die, I don't want it to be because of something stupid, like, you tried to stand and fight when you sure as heck shouldn't be," she replied gruffly.

"Ah, yes!" I remarked. She cocked her head a little. I uneasily made my way over to her, so that I was right in front of her. "If I die! Let's say, for a moment, that, hypothetically, I was going to die in the next few minutes."

"Okay…" Isabella blinked, frowning a little.

"We both know that I'm not positively, most certainly going to die in the next few minutes, of course, but-" I continued, but she cut me off.

"Phineas, what's your point, this is complete-" she started, but I cut her off by pulling her into me and locking my lips with hers. I can't really say why I did it, I was just acting on impulse, but it just felt…right. Her tension seemed to melt away when I did that. I pulled away from her a little, but she just got closer and took my lips in hers once more. The warmth I felt now wasn't a bad one, like the fever overtaking my skin; no, it was rather a benign feeling. When she went to pull away, I brought her back to me and kissed her again.

"Oh, my _gods_."

Isabella and I jumped away from each other a little. I fell over a bit, but she had a good enough grip on me to make sure I didn't fall flat on the ground. Anabeth was standing there in the entrance to the tent gaping at us both, unsure what to say about this. I felt my cheeks flush red. Out of the corner of my left eye, I could see Isabella turning a deep shade of scarlet.

"H-hi, Anabeth," I said, swallowing a little. "Nice weather, isn't it?"

"No one told me the forecast was demigods with a slight chance of P.D.A.," she blinked. I could feel the heat in my cheeks even more so now. Percy and Ferb walked in behind her, both decked out in armor and carrying swords. I then noticed that Anabeth was wearing armor as well.

"Phineas, you aren't supposed to be standing!" Percy groaned. "Anabeth, Isabella, aren't you supposed to be encouraging him to rest?"

"That's what I _thought_ Isabella was doing," Anabeth huffed. She shifted her feet a little and smirked. "Instead I find two demigods caught up in lip-locking action."

Ferb dropped his sword.

"They were _what_?!" Percy gasped, almost shocked to hear that. I don't blame him; that was the first time I'd ever kissed anyone. Ferb just stood there, blinking in amazement.

"Finally, he's not oblivious," Ferb smiled.

"Do what?" I frowned. "I just…I mean I…well…that was…she's so…I felt like…hot…"

The threesome burst out laughing. I really don't know what was so funny. My cheeks burned even more. Man, the insanity one little…excuse me, a few little…kisses could cause. They were the ones that caught me off guard and expected me to be able to explain it. Ferb ran over and gave me a hug.

"Congratulations, Phin, you finally didn't miss something," he chuckled.

"I'm so lost," I sighed.

"Go on, we'll leave you be," Ferb laughed. He ushered Percy and Anabeth out of the room. "Just remember, we're preparing for battle and we'll need you as soon as we can get you."

With that, Isabella and I were alone again. We turned our heads to look at one another and froze. Her eyes looked longing. Perhaps she felt it, too. I reached my hand over to her and wrapped my fingers around her small upper arm. She quivered a little, probably not sure of what my next move would be.

"D-did I scare you?" I whispered.

"No," she said softly. "Threw me off guard a little, but you didn't scare me."

"A-are you mad at me?" I stammered.

"No," she repeated. "I'm not mad. It was, it was kinda nice, actually."

"So…you…you liked it?" I blinked, unsure if she'd let me do it again. She nodded slowly and kept looking into my eyes. They sparkled a little in curiosity. "Do…do you want me to do it again?"

"Y-yes," she nodded. "Go on…kiss me."

I leaned forward, and she leaned with me. It seemed harder this time, for some reason, but I pushed that feeling away and tilted her chin up with my fingers. We pulled closer together, so close that I could feel her breathing on my lips. Putting aside my fears, I gave into my wants and kissed her long and full. This was truly bliss.

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**Who likes? :)**


	33. Perry's Perspective: War in Hollywood

**So, I found a passage of this story I'd written last year some time...it was supposed to be earlier on, but it will be incorporated into not this chapter but the next. I fail... -AJ**

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When I reached the place where Percy and Phineas had decided to set up camp, I found it desolated. Either they had figured I'd come back and intentionally moved, or the war had started without me. I was betting on the latter; Ares was, and always will be, a complete jerk. Twisting the hilt of my sword in my hands, I thought long and hard about what I had to do. My short-term goal was to find Phineas and beg for his forgiveness; my long-term goal was to stop what I had started. The first definitely looked more promising than the latter. Sighing, I sprinted down a few yards and came to a stop.

This was what I had been looking for- signs of demigod life. A group of maybe five demigods were fighting, and it looked like three of these were children of Ares. I quietly made my way down to the scene to see that the other two were Ferb and Anabeth. Weird pair, but they were doing exceptionally well. Still, it looked as though the Ares kids had the upper hand. I twirled my sword around in my hand and leapt on top of the tallest kid, pressing the blade up against his neck. The other four stopped fighting and watched us.

"Don't make me slit your throat, kid," I whispered in his ear. "Are you really going to kill a fellow demigod?"

"I-I…what trickery is this, Anabeth?!" the kid shrieked.

"She didn't conjure me," I laughed. Licking my bill, I pressed the sword into his Adam's apple a little, drawing a faint line across his pale skin. "Now, put your weapons down and think about what you've done."

"O-okay," the kid swallowed. He dropped his sword and began to pull various other weapons out of his armor and toss them on the ground as well.

"Good, good," I smiled. "Now get your friends to do the same or it's off with your head. Got it?"

"I-I got it…" he stammered. He slowly turned and waved his hands frantically at his two comrades. "D-drop your weapons! Drop them now!"

"Why?" one objected. I furrowed my brow and pulled the sword into his skin a little. Some blood started to trickle down his neck.

"IT'S GONNA KILL ME, DARN IT, DROP YOUR DANG WEAPONS!" he shouted. The other two quickly began to shed themselves of weaponry. I chuckled and looked at Anabeth, who was giving me a hard, stoic look. "Gah, don't you two know how to follow orders…thank you!"

"Anabeth, they're all yours," I nodded. She grabbed one, motioned for Ferb to grab the other, and they commenced to tie them up to a nearby pine tree. I hopped down off of the one kid and wiped the blade off on the grass. He dropped to his knees and wrapped his fingers around his neck, probably thankful that I didn't slice his head off. "Thank you for your cooperation, kid."

"Y-you're going to let me go?" he asked, giving me a suspicious look.

"Let's just say someone talked a tiny bit of sense into my head," I said icily, looking at Anabeth again, who narrowed her eyes at me. "Other demigods are the only other kids we've got to share our predicament with. Why should we kill them?"

I turned on my heel and continued on. Anabeth apparently wouldn't have it, she sprinted off after me, with Ferb on her heels. She caught up to me, grabbed me by the shoulder, and forcefully turned me to face her.

"YOU!" she screamed. I blinked and pulled her hand off of my shoulder.

"Some temper, sis," I muttered.

"Don't you _even_," she seethed. Her eyes burned with anger. "You have to answer for what you've done. You nearly killed Phineas. He'll be experiencing the effects of that wound for the rest of his life."

"I understand that," I told her, still doing my best to keep my apathetic expression. "But I have much bigger things to deal with right now."

"Like _what_?" she spat. I wiped her saliva off of my cheek and frowned.

"This war, Anabeth, this war," I said, annoyed with her and this conversation. She narrowed her eyes even more. "Let me finish!"

"What do you know about this war?" Anabeth huffed. "Iris and Hades told Phineas. Who told you?"

"No one," I growled. "No one told me about the war, no one freaking had to!"

"What?" she blinked.

"I STARTED IT, OKAY!" I shouted. Her mouth dropped open. Ferb…he didn't react much, but I could tell that he was shocked as well. "It was me, it wasn't Ares, it was me."

"Y-you planned to kill us?" Anabeth squeaked. "You wanted to kill every other demigod alive?"

"Yes, originally I did," I sighed. She looked slightly offended by this, being my half-sister and all. "I started planning this way before either of you was born, so why don't you both just chill out? My point is…"

"That you're a moron?" Anabeth inserted.

"Yes," I nodded. "I mean, wait, no! My point is that I have to stop this before Ares continues it! Who cares what I'm labeled as, if we don't do something, Ares is sure to wipe out the entirety of the demigod population!"

Anabeth pursed her lips and gave me a hard, cold stare. I could tell that she wasn't sure if she wanted to slap me or join me. It was an expected reaction. If I was her, I wouldn't want to believe me either. She shifted her feet a little and narrowed her eyes at me.

"How exactly do you plan to stop a war by yourself?" she demanded. I sighed. This was getting practically nowhere.

"I _can't_ stop it by myself," I insisted. She raised her eyebrows in a sarcastic manner and crossed her arms. "Look, I'm going to need your help. I'm a firm believer in every demigod for himself, but I'm begging you both to just please forgive me and help me stop this. Please."

"What would you have us do?" Ferb spoke up. I looked at him. Even though he said it, I knew just based on his question and nearly emotionless expression that he'd forgiven me.

"We need to get the Ares kids into downtown Hollywood," I explained, already formulating a battle plan in my head. Anabeth smirked a little, seeing where I was going with this. "This gives us a better landscape for strategy."

"That's not a bad idea," Anabeth remarked. "We might also want to rally all of our supporting demigods. They're a bit…scattered, if you will."

"Great," I moaned. "The last thing we need is a bunch of scattered demigods. What kind of brainless leader lets their soldiers scatter across Hollywood?!"

"Phineas…" she said blankly. I felt my cheeks flush red.

"I never knew the kid to be a Pericles," I shrugged. "He needs some Athenian help, that's all."

"Are you actually _admitting_ and _accepting_ that your Athena's son?" Anabeth smirked. My cheeks heated up, probably reddening even more.

"And I _never_ said I was accepting that!" I retorted. She just laughed. Her resemblance to my old fiancé was really plucking my nerves. I wanted to scream at her and call her a jerk, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Between her and Percy, I wasn't sure how much I could take of the likeness to her. "Let's get going, okay?"

"Alright, alright," she chuckled. "Follow me."

She took off into the trees and had Ferb and I trail behind her with a minimal amount of difficulty. Once we made it out of the wooded area, we stopped and looked out over Hollywood in its entirety. There was one particular word I could think of to describe what I saw; chaos. What had I started? Demigods were everywhere; in the streets, in the buildings, and even around the outskirts one could find hundreds of demigods clashing swords. Blood had been spilled, screams could be heard; it was the most realistic nightmare I'd ever witnessed, or I'd died and Hades was tormenting me with sick visions somewhere in the Fields of Asphodel. The guilt knotted up in my chest like food I couldn't swallow.

"I'll never be able to forgive myself…" I sighed. Ferb put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a slight hug. I still couldn't fathom why he was being so nice to me; I'd nearly killed his brother.

"There's still time to redeem yourself," he said softly.

"How?" I whispered. I looked out over the massacre I'd brought about. How did he expect anything good to happen from all of this innocent blood being spilt? The thought made my bill quiver a little. A single tear rolled down my hot cheek, stark and cold against my dry fur.

"Just stand up for what's right," he told me. He applied some pressure to my shoulder, probably to let me know that I did, indeed, have a chance at somewhat mending my mistake.

"Well, we'd better do it quick," Anabeth said, jumping in on our tender moment. She worked her jaw a little, unsure if she liked the audience thinking of her interjection in that way. I shrugged it off. "Look, ignoring your blatant disrespect for the fourth wall, we have to do something. It looks as if some monsters are getting involved."

"Monsters?" I blinked. "Ares was told to specifically leave those out!"

"It sure doesn't look like he listened," she huffed. I narrowed my eyes and looked down at the battle scene. Sure enough, I could see a few minotaurs, a couple hydra, and a Nemean lion heading straight for the city. Wrapping my fingers tightly around my sword, I cursed a little under my breath and took a deep breath. Looks like I had to fix what I'd started.

"I'm glad to see you took my advice, son of Athena."

We all turned around quickly to see Poseidon standing there, grinning like a monkey who'd just spotted a banana. Okay…probably an awful analogy, but whatever.

"What are you here for?" I asked, giving him a slightly pained look.

"Oh, Zeus just sent me here to tell you something," he smiled.

"Oh, yeah?" I frowned. Uh-oh. Not again. "What's the punishment…?"

"What? No, he's lifted the curse. You're now just a demigod platypus."

* * *

**Is that good or bad?**


	34. The Hydra

**I freaked waffleman with some of these chapters... -AJ**

* * *

So far, my injury wasn't keeping me from fighting. It hurt like I was being repeatedly stabbed there, but it wasn't completely unbearable to the point of me having to stop what I was doing. I swung my sword upward to parry a blow. It bounced off the center of my blade and sent the kid's arm flying. Whoever let him fight, they were out of their mind. This kid didn't know the first thing about fighting, and even though I was pretty close to not knowing, I knew an unskilled fighter when I saw one. He inched towards me a little and waggled his sword at me awkwardly.

"Seriously, you want to kill another demigod?" I asked, feeling awkward for having called myself a demigod when I knew I was actually a quartigod.

"Well, Khione says we have to," he said quietly. So he was a son of Khione. That was weird; how come he didn't know how to fight?

"You're really going to follow your mother's advice and kill your own kind?" I blinked. He paused. "Seriously, think about it. We're all in the same boat, here. You and I, we both know what it's like to have a god and a mortal for parents. Humans don't know; the gods certainly don't know. We're the only ones like us."

"You've got a pretty valid point," the kid remarked. He turned and stood next to me. "I'm Collin, son of Khione. And you?"

"Phineas, son of Hades, grandson of Iris," I told him. I looked around to see who we could help out.

"Whoa, you're the son of a god and a demigod?" he asked, appalled at the idea that this could happen. "Like, seriously?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Is that weird?"

"No, that's freaking awesome!" he exclaimed. He saw some of his fellow siblings and called out to them. "Hey, guys! Come here a sec!"

"Collin, are you trying to-"

"I'm their favorite; I know they'll hear me out," he winked. "You go help Poseidon's kid. He looks like he's got his hands full with some Ares kids over there. Go get 'em, Phineas."

"Thanks," I laughed a little. "Hopefully we'll meet again outside of the Underworld."

"I hope so, too," he smiled. I nodded and ran off towards Percy. He was being backed into a building about a street away from me. I sprinted as fast as I could with my injury and the weight of my armor. Percy seemed to be faring well; every time he seemed to be at a disadvantage, he'd use nearby fire hydrants to his advantage. I concentrated on the nearest Ares kid and murmured a few words in Ancient Greek. The kid fell into a fissure in the ground and was immediately bathed in flames. Percy glanced over at me.

"Nice to see you, too, Phin," he laughed. I ran up beside him and steadied myself. The Ares kid in front of us growled a little, baring her teeth like she was a dog or something.

"I've seen sloths more threatening," I said under my breath.

"Don't press your luck, Phineas," Percy warned. He held Riptide steady and watched her every move. "Just because we're Bit Three kids doesn't mean anything; Ares' kids are born war machines."

Before I even had a chance to respond, a roar echoed in the streets and three figures ran for us. I could make out the form of Anabeth, but the other two were a little fuzzy in my vision. Turning to see where the roar had come from, I saw the tip of something's head over the top of a small McDonald's roof.

"Percy, is that…" I breathed.

"PHINEAS, PERCY, RUN!" I heard Anabeth scream. We both turned around to see her, Ferb, and, much to our shock, Perry running towards us and waving their arms.

"I need to find Ares, had anyone seen Ares?" Perry panted. Anabeth elbowed him in the head and pulled out her own sword. Perry reluctantly pulled out his sword and looked at me. "Phineas, I came back to say I'm sorry."

"It's okay, really," I told him. "But now's not the time for apologies."

"Seriously, Phineas-"

"Perry, he's not joking, we've got a hydra on top of us," Percy said, sending the platypus an icy glare.

"Well, we were on our way to tell you that, but seeing as you just want to jump on things and-"

"PERRY!" I screamed. He stopped talking for a split second to see the hydra's head swoop down to swallow one of us. I grabbed both him and Percy and threw us into the building Percy had been fighting up against. Ferb and Anabeth both rolled into the room behind us. "You've gotta pay more attention, you little freak."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Perry grumbled. He tried to stand up, but was stuck underneath myself and Percy.

"Dog pile time is over, boys," Anabeth said sarcastically.

"Nobody asked you, little sister," Perry frowned. He pushed us both off and stood up, panting. The hydra broke through the building above us and sent debris all over us. "Okay, kiddies, we have to run."

Perry grabbed mine and Anabeth's hands and made for the nearest door. He threw us inside, grabbed the handle of the door, and slammed it shut behind us. I fell against the wall and tried to catch my breath. The injury was starting to bother me a little more now, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"Are we in a train station?" Perry murmured.

"No, idiot, we're in an airport," I rolled my eyes. "Of course it's a train station! There were train tracks in the other room, for crying out loud!"

"I'm no idiot, Phinny," Perry grinned, closing his eyes matter-of-factly. "Of course, I locked Percy and Ferb in the same room as the hydra."

I stared at him, my mouth about to fall open with shock as I realized his stupid mistake. Anabeth looked as if she was about to scream. He snapped his eyes open and looked at me, realizing what he'd said.

"Wait…" he mouthed. I went to say something, but he was gone in the next second, already in the other room. Anabeth and I shared a curious look, and then we took off after him. The room we'd come from was now in a state of disorder. Percy and Ferb were cornered on the fourth platform, trying to stay away from the hydra's jaws. I saw Perry run over and hop up on its back and start trying to hack its head off.

"You're right, Phineas," Anabeth nodded. "He really _is_ an idiot."

"Isn't there a reason you don't cut the heads off?" I asked. Perry hopped down and looked at Ferb and Percy.

"I don't get it, why are they still freaking out?" Perry shrugged.

"You moron, haven't you ever fought a hydra before?!" Anabeth shrieked. Percy and Ferb ran over behind us, watching the hydra's body intently. "You just made it worse!"

"It's headless," Perry emphasized. "That means it's dead. Duh."

"No…" Percy shook his head. He pointed to the hydra's body. We all turned to look. The neck seemed to be regenerating and growing back. "If you cut off a hydra head, two more grow back to take its place."

"Mother!" Perry squeaked. He jumped in front of me and started pushing me back.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I'm running for my life, what does it look like I'm doing?!" he exclaimed. I stepped out of his way and walked over to the rest. He stopped and looked at me. "Phineas, come on, we can't take that thing!"

"I've seen you nearly kill two Big Three kids," I said pointedly. "This can't be that hard for you, even if you've never fought one before."

"The curse was lifted just before I came to find you!" he cried. "I can't fight like that anymore!"

"You're a son of Athena!" Anabeth shouted at him. "Try acting like one!"

This seemed to encourage Perry to greatness. He drew himself up a little to make himself seem larger than he was and walked back over to join us. Anabeth tried to hide her laughter at this action. Perry looked at her out of the side of his eye.

"You try being a little over two feet tall and then tell us how you feel," he snorted. The hydra stood back up, its two heads glaring down at us angrily.

"So, how do we kill a hydra?" I asked, looking at the others expectantly.

"Anabeth, you knock down the ceiling," Percy ordered. "I'll use the water fountain to keep it distracted. Perry, you keep the head that's not interested in me interested in you. Ferb, I need you to run and help Anabeth."

"What about me?" I asked. "What can I do?"

"When the ceiling caves in, get me and Perry out of here," he smiled. "Shadow-travel again."

"Alright," I nodded. Anabeth and Ferb were already up on the roof somehow breaking up the plaster and stone. Percy willed the water from the water fountain to rush into the right-hand hydra head, while Perry was busy whacking at the other with his sword. I grabbed onto their free wrists and waited for the right moment to shadow-travel away from here.

Bits and pieces of the ceiling began to cave in. I wanted to move so badly, but until I was sure that the whole ceiling was going to come down on top of the monster, I wasn't going anywhere. Perry looked up at the ceiling nervously, but snapped his eyes back to the hydra. Percy looked as if he was straining himself a little.

"Percy, I think we're good," I said firmly.

"No, just give them a few more seconds!" he told me. "Count to ten, then go."

"Alright," I sighed. I waited, counting slowly to ten in my head. Large chunks of plaster and rock came crashing down. I could see the panic written across Perry's face and the determination on Percy's. From somewhere above us, I heard Anabeth let out a scream. I grabbed onto Percy and Perry's arms tightly and willed us away, not wanting to see what happened directly after the rest of the roof caved in.

* * *

**Yeah, I totally freaked him with that. **


	35. War Like You Ain't Seen

**I named this chapter after a Trip Lee song lyric. And I bet no one knows what I'm even referencing...so...onward to the story. -AJ**

* * *

We reappeared in an alley not too far from the rest of the battle. Perry let go of me furiously, probably freaked out from the shadow-travelling. It unnerved him, I guess. Percy turned in frantic circles looking for Anabeth. He took off to find the ruins of the train station. I sighed and watched him run off; however Anabeth and Ferb had managed to cave in the roof, I'm sure they weren't stupid enough to crush themselves.

"Well, I guess we have to regroup with the rest of our soldiers, then," I said to Perry. His face was full of horror as he looked out over the battlefield.

"Look what I've done," he moaned. I walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I came back to apologize…for your injury…for my selfishness…and for this war…"

"Why the war?" I asked.

"I was the jerk who started it," he choked. I hugged him closely.

"You're not a jerk," I told him. "You were just a blinded demigod who couldn't see past his own hurt."

"How can you say that?" Perry frowned, turning to look at me with tears filling up his eyes. "You didn't start a war that was pitted against your own species. Your own kind. You don't spite the gods for never paying you mind."

"No," I said. "But I do know what it feels like to have never met a parent. And then I find out who my dad is, but I can't tell anyone. I felt like I was being used; that my dad didn't really care about me, I was just his pawn to set things in motion. But then, I realized he _didn't_ hate me. I realized there _was_ a purpose for what he did."

"But does my mom really care?" he asked me pointedly. "Can you prove that she cares about me?"

"Well…" I started. I couldn't technically prove that. If I was going to win this argument, I had to do it by convincing him I knew for a fact she card. "I can't _prove_ it, but something tells me Athena loves her kids. Maybe it's the fact that she came to aid the demigods, even if Poseidon was coming, too. I know you don't want to hear that she's busy, but can we truly understand how busy our parents are, being gods?"

"That's a good point…" he sighed. "But…this, Phinny…this is war…war like you ain't seen…"

"You're right," I laughed a little. "This is a war like I've never seen."

"I don't mean this," Perry said, spreading his arms out across my view of the heartless demigod slaughter. He took his hands and pressed them to his heart. "I mean _this_."

"I know," I nodded. I turned him to look at me once again. "But you know what I also know?"

"What?" he blinked.

"I know that you can stop this war," I told him. "Both, actually. You can stop the deaths of several demigods, and you can stop the mental death of yourself."

"How can you be so sure?" Perry countered. He glanced nervously over his shoulder and then looked down at himself. "How do you know I can fix this? Without Zeus' curse, I can't overtake people like I used to be able to. That was how I was confident in starting this whole mess! Phineas…let's be honest- I can't _really_ stop all of this."

"Yeah you can," I smiled mischievously. "After all…you're 'Agent P,' right?"

* * *

**How's that working out for them?**


	36. The One Who Falls

**I'm running out of clever comments, even if they weren't really ever that clever... -AJ**

* * *

Perry and I ran out from the alleyway to find Percy, Ferb, and Anabeth. Apparently I'd transported us about two blocks away from the old train station. It wasn't hard to miss, anyways, since Ferb and Anabeth pretty much demolished the whole thing. We ran up to see Percy staring at the rubble, unsure of what he was doing. I couldn't see any remnants of the hydra, but that was probably a good thing; if we'd defeated it, it should have turned into glittery dust or something along those lines.

"Percy, what's the news?" I asked. He simply kept staring at the demolished building, not saying a word. "Perce?"

"She's not here," he whispered. I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. It wasn't my fault if Ferb or Anabeth had died, but I still felt like there was something I could have done. Forgetting about the war going on behind me, I started to run around the wreckage, looking for either of them.

"Ferb!" I cried. "Ferb, Anabeth! Where are you?!"

"Maybe they got away and are fighting somewhere else?" Perry suggested, looking around to see if he could spot them among the battling demigods. I glanced up as well, hoping to see the identifiable green hair that belonged to my stepbrother. Of course, I saw nothing.

"Ferb!" I cried. "Ferb, answer me!"

"Phineas-" Perry said, grabbing ahold of my shoulder. "Phineas, I think you should see-"

"Where is he?!" I shouted, more harshly than I'd intended. Perry stepped back from me a little and sighed. I swung around and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. "Where's my brother?!"

"O-over there!" Perry exclaimed. He swallowed hard, terrified that I might do something rash to him. Taking in his breaths quickly, but rhythmically, he pointed a shaky index finger in the direction of the rubble. My eyes snapped over to see what he was pointing at. A little bit of Ferb's hair could be seen, poking out of the dust and plaster. "Is that him?"

"Ferb!" I screamed. Percy looked up, somewhat thrown off by my outburst. I made a mad dash over to my brother and started to dig at the pile. "Help! Someone help me get him out!"

"I got you, Phineas," Perry said, hopping over and commencing his own digging. Percy slowly walked over to us and closed his eyes. He called water from somewhere to try and wash away the dirt and rock that was covering up my stepbrother.

"Come on, come on!" I said through clenched teeth. I pulled away at the rocks as fast as I could, so much so that my fingers started to ache and bleed. "Ferb, can you hear me? Please respond…please."

We kept digging at the ruins for a long time, frantically pulling rocks, dirt, and other debris away from Ferb's body. By the time we'd uncovered his face, he wasn't moving. I grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him away from the mess. Perry and Percy continued to rummage around for Anabeth while I worked on making sure Ferb was okay.

"Ferb, wake up," I said, choking on my own words. His body lay limp on the ground, covered in dirt, sweat, and blood from where the impact had hit him. I pulled some ambrosia out of a pocket in my jean shorts and pressed it into his mouth, hoping that it would affect him in some way. Nothing happened. "Please, Ferb, you have to wake up."

I could feel the hot tears running down my face. It wasn't fair, it just wasn't fair. It might seem selfish as all heck, but if they kill any demigod other than my brother and it's fine; my brother wasn't even run through with a sword, and I'm breaking down in front of the whole world. I picked up his hand and squeezed it tightly.

"You can't die…" I whispered. "Not here, not now."

He didn't move or make a sound. I pressed his hand to my forehead and closed my eyes tightly. Even if I knew I could visit him in the Underworld, it would never be the same as seeing his living, breathing face. Suddenly, I felt a hand brush up against my arm.

"It's alright," I heard. My eyes snapped open to see Ferb returning my gaze. His eyes were slightly open, and he didn't seem all too oriented, but he was alive nonetheless. I scooped him up into a hug.

"You're alive!" I cried. He laughed a little.

"Yes," he nodded. "And you're kind of hurting me."

"Oh!" I exclaimed. I set him back down on the ground softly and smiled a little. "Sorry, bro. I thought I'd lost you."

"Nope," he shook his head. "Not yet."

Asclepius walked up behind us and laughed. I turned my head, starting to wonder how he'd just popped up out of nowhere. Then, I kinda remembered that he was a god and left it at that. He knelt down next to Ferb and me and smiled at us gingerly.

"Phineas, go," he told me. I stood to my feet and nodded. "I'll tend to your brother and keep him safe."

"What about Anabeth?" I asked.

"Yes, Anabeth is fine," he said with a smile. "She made it out of the way before the building collapsed."

"But…her scream…" I murmured.

"She saw your brother fall in," Asclepius corrected. "She wasn't screaming for her own life. She screamed for his. After the building was down, she knew there was no way for her to sort through the mess, so she ran off to help fight. Fortunately, you, Percy, and that other thing were smart enough to find him before he died from the pressure."

"Thanks," I said, dipping my head to him. I ran over to Perry and Percy, happy to hear that no lives had been lost in this building's demise (save the hydra). "Percy, Percy! Anabeth's not here! She's somewhere in the battle!"

"She…is?" he asked, looking up at me in astonishment.

"Yeah, Asclepius saw her!" I beamed. A smile spread across the son of Poseidon's face. He ran over and pulled out Riptide. I brought out Hades' weapon and brandished it a little. Perry hopped over and pulled out a sword of some sort.

"Tada," he chuckled.

"Quit goofing around, we've got to help the others," Percy said, shooting a side look at Perry. The platypus dropped his sword dejectedly.

"I thought, you know, we had a thing going on here," he sighed. "I guess not…"

"Well, we could, but I doubt any of us should be, seeing as we're stuck in the middle of a full-blown war," I said, shrugging a little.

"Touché," Perry remarked, pointing a finger at me. He went to say something else, but was suddenly caught off guard when an arrow zipped past both Percy and me, catching him square in the right shoulder pocket. He yelped and tried to pull the arrow out, but when he looked up, he thought better of it. Ares, the god of war, was standing right over us, glaring down at Perry.

"I heard someone was trying to stop the very mess he started," Ares growled. He pushed me and Percy out of the way to get to Perry, who held up his sword and prepared himself for defense. "You've got a lot of guts, kid, defying me."

"I-I told you," Perry stammered. "I-I'm not a kid, I'm, l-like, in my f-forties."

"My apologies," Ares said mockingly. He swung his sword forward and knocked Perry's askew. The platypus wrapped his fingers around it tighter, only to have it knocked out of his hands and sent flying down the pavement. He cried out in pain, realizing what the impact had done to his fingers. "Oh, look. Athena's little fireball has got no weapons on his person."

"N-not true," Perry said, grinning a little. He pulled his fedora off, reached inside, and pulled out a grenade. He tossed it at Ares. "See?"

"What?" Ares caught the object in his hands. Perry frowned and wondered what was going on. He accidentally dropped the pin he'd pulled and looked up sheepishly at Ares, who was laughing heartily. "You actually think this will work on me?"

"No, but this will," Perry snarled, pulling out a sword and aiming straight for the god's underarm. Ares blocked the blow with an uninterested yawn. Again and again Perry tried to even lay the sword against Ares' body, but his attempts were in vain. He was no longer a good match for a god, much less Ares. His patience started to wear thin, and he began to hack more carelessly now.

"You see, little son of Athena?" Ares grinned. "You're better off dead."

"What?" Perry blinked, pausing for a moment to look up in confusion at the god. It was his worst mistake yet, for, just as he looked up, Ares twisted Perry's sword and ran it straight through his own stomach. The platypus' face contorted in pain as he staggered back, trying not to fall. The laughing Ares left us there, alone in the midst of the battle with no one to help us. Perry backed himself up to the wall of a building.

"Perry, wait right here, I'll go and get Asclepius!" I shouted at him. He shook his head and pointed at the battle.

"Go! They need you two!" he yelled back. "Go before it's too late!"

"I can't just leave you here, you'll die!" I screamed back.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!" he said, sweat starting to pour down his face. He pulled at the sword a little, trying to dislodge it from his center. "Just go, Phineas! Go before something worse happens!"

Something worse, he said. What could be worse than losing a friend or a brother? I stared back at him, watching him as he tried in earnest to pull the sword out of his own body. My gut told me to stay with him and help him out, but my heart darkly whispered that it was already too late for him. Licking my lips a little, I took one last glance at him and wondered if I'd ever see him again while he was still alive. I hoped I could, just once more. Taking a deep breath, I turned and faced the battlefield, my heart now filling with the dread of the mindless battle that was occurring around me.

"Let's finish this," I whispered.

* * *

**Oh dear. Ares has done...an Ares thing. (I really don't know what I'm saying...)**


	37. The Tide Breaks

**This story got so long...and I got so into it. Fun times, whoo! -AJ**

* * *

I ran out into the battlefield and regrouped with the Khione kids. Irving had joined them by now and was proudly fighting beside his half-siblings. Jumping up between him and Collin, I looked around to see how they were faring.

"Nice to see you again, Phineas," Collin smiled.

"You, too," I nodded. I gave Irving a wink. He chuckled a little and grinned. "So, how's everything going up here?"

"It's okay, I guess," Irving sighed. "There's been too much loss so far. I mean, unless we can somehow turn all of the demigods to the same side, we're pretty much stuck."

"Well, whose demigods do we have to convince?" I asked them.

"There's Nemesis' kids, Hephaestus' kids, and Ares' kids that we know for sure are on Ares' side," Collin informed me. I made a mental note that the least likely converts would be Ares' kids. "Other than that, entire groups aren't able to be counted. A few Khione kids are fighting alongside our mother still, and I believe a handful of Aeolus' kids are against us."

"Is Aeolus himself with us?" I pressured.

"I think so," Irving nodded. "He's up there after Ares."

"Good, for now," I said, sucking on my teeth a little. "Once he finds out that Ares has probably just murdered Perry, though, he might change his mind and switch sides, so we might want to keep _that_ tidbit of information to ourselves."

"Perry?!" Irving gasped. "He's…dead?"

"No, he's not dead at the moment," I said, trying to reassure both of us. I couldn't really know; I'd left the platypus where he'd told me to leave him. "But, let's just say he's not faring well with a sword wedged in his gut."

"Ew…" Irving commented. "I feel so sorry for the guy, but that is just gross."

"It's war, Irving," I reminded him. "He could have lost both of his limbs and had his guts spilling out onto the pavement…"

"Okay, okay!" Irving said, feigning sickness. "You can stop anytime, you know!"

"Alright," I laughed a little. He shuddered and shook his head a little. "Well, let's get a move on and try and win this war, shall we? We've got to try and live somehow, eh?"

"Yeah!" Collin exclaimed, thrusting his sword into the air clumsily.

"You guys see that cluster of Nemesis' kids down over by the demolished train station?" I asked them. They both nodded. "Rally up these Khione kids and let's go encourage them to greatness!"

"Khione's cabin, follow me!" Collin cried. He ran off in the direction of the kids I had mentioned, and the rest of the Khione group followed behind him rather quickly. Irving gave me a slight wave and ran off to join them. I caught a glimpse of Isabella fighting a Nemean lion out of the corner of my eyes. Turning on my heels, I ran over to her and tried to think of how to help her. My last way of helping had nearly killed Ferb.

"Isabella, hang on, I'm coming!" I shouted. I thought for a little bit about what I had to do, and then it hit me. Hades was my father- I could just send the creature back to the Underworld where it belonged. The question at hand was how to do that. I'd never sent anything back to the Underworld before. Last time I'd tried to open up a fissure underneath something to drop them in the Underworld, I'd become a flower child with rainbow powers. I focused my energy and stared hard at the lion.

"Phineas, help!" Isabella shrieked. The lion knocked her sword from her hands and sent it skipping down the road. Isabella dropped down to her hands and knees, looking up at the lion's angry snarl with fear in her eyes. This only made me work harder. I let out a loud shout and the ground beneath the lion crumbled away, taking him with it. He let out an angry roar before disappearing into the abyss. Releasing the energy flow, I stumbled over to Isabella and dropped down next to her. I could see blood coming through her chain-link armor where the lion had clawed her.

"A-are you okay?" I stammered. She nodded and wrapped her arms around my neck. I planted a kiss on her cheek, thankful that she wasn't hurt as badly as Ferb or Perry. I couldn't bear to think of harm coming to anyone else I loved.

"We're losing…" she said quietly. We both looked out over the battlefield with grave expressions and sighed.

"Sadly, I think you're right," I nodded. She stood up and helped me up as well. I felt the energy drop in my body and my injury decided to flare up even more than it had been throughout the battle. "What else can we do but fight for our lives, though?"

"I don't know…" she whispered. She propped me up on her shoulder and made sure I was standing up properly. "I need to get you to Asclepius. He can help you, maybe."

"But, I have to help," I told her. She shook her head.

"Phineas, you're _injured_," she said, emphasizing the fact that I wasn't technically supposed to be fighting in the first place. "You need to rest. We can only do so much as it is; just let the rest handle this, okay?"

"But…" I started, but she laid a finger on my lips.

"Shh…" she said, smiling at me a little. "No buts. You've done your part, now let others do theirs. Besides, I think Percy's got this."

"What?" I blinked. I broke away from her, forgetting about my pain and ignoring my lack of energy. Looking over at where Percy was standing, I then saw what she meant. An enormous rush of water was rushing for the city, pulling anyone who wasn't on our side underneath its tumultuous arms. I don't know how he could specifically knock out only opposing forces, but it was amazing nonetheless. "Yeah, Percy!"

"Is he…?" Isabella focused her look on the son of Poseidon in amazement.

"He's practically won for us!" I shouted. I picked her up and spun her around, too happy to care that I probably was in no condition to be doing such. She laughed a little and smiled at me. "I can't believe it! The tides are turning…literally!"

"Ha, ha, you're so punny," she remarked.

"I didn't even mean to…yeah I wasn't trying to…oh, I see what you did there," I chuckled. "But seriously, I wasn't trying to pun."

"I know," she grinned. I hugged her and thought about all of the wonderful times we could have together now that the war would be over in a matter of seconds. Then I remembered the casualties.

"I almost forgot!" I exclaimed. I grabbed her hand and pulled her along after me.

"Phineas, where are we going?!" she yelped, caught off guard by my outburst. "We can relax; you _need_ to relax!"

"But, Isabella, you have to know," I told her pointedly. "My brother and Perry are injured very seriously…they need me more than I need to relax."

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**I know, I know...what a dorky chapter name. **


	38. Sadness in Celebration

**I wrote this about nine months ago on the back of my physics notebook. A classmate who read it thought I was morbid...tell me what you think it makes me; is he right? -AJ**

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Holding tightly onto Isabella's hand, I pulled her along through the happy crowd of celebrant demigods. Percy had pretty much owned, and it was great that they were all happy, but I had to see if Ferb and Perry were alright. We weaved in and out of the crowd, trying to avoid conversations and congratulations from nearby friends. It was only a matter of seconds before we ran across Percy, Anabeth, and Ferb.

"Ferb!" I exclaimed. "You're alright!"

"Of course I am," he laughed. He walked over and gave me a quick hug. "However, Anabeth says Perry isn't faring well."

"Where is he?!" I shouted. Isabella squeezed my shoulder, letting me know I was panicking. "Sorry, I'm just _really_ concerned."

"Follow us," Anabeth said, waving her hand and walking off in the direction I'd come from when I'd first left Perry. So he hadn't moved. "My mom's taking care of him, so he's in good hands."

"Athena?" I blinked. She nodded. I followed behind her as quickly as I could, trying to tell myself not to get over-excited that Perry's lifelong wish had finally come true. Of course, it all melted away once I turned the corner and saw her kneeling down next to her son, whispering gently to him. Unable to control myself, I ran over to Perry and dropped down next to him. His breathing was more like gasping, as he tried to pull air into his lungs. Blood soaked his fur, standing out in stark difference from his teal colored coat. "H-how's he doing?"

"No better," Athena shook her head. She pointed to the sword that had been removed from Perry's stomach. "Ares did a fine job of making sure that he felt a lot of pain. But, if you can save his life, please, take him away from here to where he can breathe. This confined city air isn't doing his body any good."

"Certainly!" I exclaimed. I gently lifted Perry up in my arms, trying my best not to hurt him any more than he already was. He groaned a little. "I've gotcha, buddy. Everything is going to be alright."

"A-at least I can finally say I met her…" he whispered, looking at Athena.

"Yes," I nodded solemnly. He leaned his head into my chest and curled up, much like a small child would. The image hurt a little. I held his blood-stained body in my arms, forcing back the tears as I told myself he'd be fine. He continued to gasp for air, trying to fight the rush of blood flowing into his lungs. Finally, out of the way of the triumphant demigods, I set him down against a large stone and knelt down beside him. His eyes opened slightly, letting me know he was in extreme pain. "It's gonna be okay, buddy," I reassured him. "I know you're going to live, just hang on until we can get you some ambrosia…"

Perry shook his head and laughed a little to himself. He wrapped his tiny fingers around mine and gently squeezed. I could tell he was dying; his grip was weak and his reaction time was way behind.

"It's over, Phinny," Perry mumbled.

"No!" I cried. "No, you can't die! Not now!"

"But I am…" Perry smiled weakly.

"What will I do without you?" I sobbed.

"Keep living life," he told me. "Carpe diem."

And with that, the world's greatest platypus drew his last breath. Perry was dead.

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**Ok, I'll have to fess up...I can't believe I did that. A) If you see my Perry covered bedroom, you'd know why. B) That's the first time I've killed a major character...**


	39. In Loving Memory

**I kinda love this chapter, even though it's short and sad. -AJ**

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I don't wish to bore you with the commute back to Camp Half-Blood. It was rather quiet and dull, and I attribute most of this to Perry's death. After all, he was the smart-aleck that had a rude, yet somewhat amusing, comment for everything that was said. Not that Ferb, Percy, or anyone else couldn't be just as funny, but it sure did damper the mood of the return trip. Once we got back to camp, though, we held a ceremony for all of the lost demigods.

We gathered around the large campfire that we ate dinner around and all stood there in solemn silence. No one spoke, no one moved, and no one even seemed to breathe. Chiron made his way to the front of the crowd and turned to us all, looking over all of our downcast faces. Some of us pulled out items that we'd been carrying in our pockets; they were some of the belongings of the people we'd lost and loved.

"If anyone has something they wish to cast into the fire to honor those whom they've lost," Chiron told the crowd. "Please step forward and cast the items in now."

Many, many demigods went up and stood near the fire, myself included. They all began to murmur words of remembrance while holding the objects up to their chests. I pressed the object I was holding up to my chest as well; it was a locket that Ferb and I had bought for Perry back when we'd considered him just a pet. Inside were three images; one of myself, one of Ferb, and one of Perry, all taken when we'd first adopted him from the O.W.C.A.'s pet shelter.

"Dad, I know he probably doesn't deserve it because of all that he did in his life," I whispered, hoping my dad was listening. "But, if there's anyone I know that should have a place in Elysium, it's Perry. He made the right choice in the end because he cared. So, if you'll trust my judgment, give him the Underworld death of a hero."

Having said that, I took one last good look at the locket and tossed it into the fire. I know, metal doesn't really burn, but it was the thought that counted. Besides, I had my injury as a permanent reminder of Perry. My eyes didn't move from the spot. I thought about the five years we'd known and loved Perry for. It brought tears to my eyes. He'd been more than a pet; he'd been a great companion, even if he was sometimes a bit stubborn and edgy. Ferb walked up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"You're going to visit him, aren't you?" he asked quietly. I nodded.

"If my dad lets me," I replied softly. Nothing else was said, though. Ferb let me remain in my silence to reflect on the things that had happened. As time passed, the campers slowly trickled away. Those in the crowd left first, and then those around the fire began to return to their cabins without a sound. Pretty soon, it was just me who was standing there still, staring into the fire forlornly.

"I think it's time you headed back to your cabin," Chiron said softly. He cantered up beside me and looked down at my tear-covered face. "It's getting a little late."

"Okay," I nodded. I turned to go back up to my cabin, but he caught me by the shoulder and smiled gently. He took my left hand, held it out, and placed Perry's fedora in it.

"Not only because it's useful, but because it has sentimental value to you as well, I think it fitting that you should have this," he said. "Athena doesn't mind."

"Thank you," I said, clutching the hat in my hand. He let me go, and I walked up to the Hades cabin alone. Once I got inside, I hopped into one of the beds, held Perry's fedora to my chest, and fell asleep, dreaming of a life where he still lived.

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**I've always wanted to write something sweet like that...well...bittersweet is a better word. **


	40. Hades' Offer

**I can't believe it, the end of this story! This was my first ever crossover, and it feels so accomplishing to have finally finished it! Enjoy, and thank you guys so much for the support and reviews! -AJ**

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The next morning, I woke up without a smile on my face. How could I smile, though, when I'd woken up with a loyal companion to greet me for the last five years and now he was gone? Sighing, I rolled out of the bed and stood to my feet, still holding the fedora tightly in my hand. I set it down on a nightstand next to the bed and proceeded to ready myself for a day of camp.

Once I was ready, I met everyone down at the fire for breakfast. It was weird having to eat alone at the Hades table, so I now kind of knew how Percy felt sitting all alone at the Poseidon table. I scooped up my plate, walked over to the fire, dumped it in and murmured my father's name. It still felt weird to do that, and I really hope Hades enjoys Belgian waffles. I sat back down at my table and ate a little bit of breakfast- another Belgian waffle and a glass of milk.

After that, I headed off to the armory to see if I could find some suitable armor for a self-training session. The armory was full of other demigods, so I decided to instead bide my time in the woods alone. Technically, I don't think I was supposed to do that, but who could really blame me? I can't go from a battle where I'd lost a great friend straight into a somewhat normal camp routine, I just can't. Sighing deeply, I found a nice spot to sit down and rested up against a tree.

"Son, I took into consideration what you asked of me last night."

I looked up to see Hades standing in front of me a few paces away. He seemed pretty calm, which isn't what I'd expected his response to my request to be. Shifting myself a little, I waited for him to say something, anything else. The lord of the dead took a deep breath and licked his lips.

"That was very noble of you," he continued. "And you are right in saying he certainly doesn't deserve Elysium. But, I can make you an offer, if you'd like to hear it."

"What kind of offer?" I asked, looking up at him with a frown.

"Well, that depends on how you take it," he chuckled. "It could be a very good offer, and it might be a very bad one. I'm somewhat certain, though, that you won't hate it altogether."

"Okay," I nodded. He took a couple steps forward and worked his jaw around a little.

"I'm willing to give you back something that you seem to think you're missing," he said, looking down at me.

"Sir?" I blinked.

"I will give you back something you think you're missing," he repeated. "Do you accept, Phineas?"

"Yes," I said, dipping my head. I wasn't sure what he'd meant, but who was I to deny a gift from my father? He smiled a little and bent his head down.

"Very well," he said, clapping his hands together. I blinked; what was supposed to happen? He waved for me to follow him, so I stood up and followed behind him, curious to see what he was giving back to me. As we rounded the next tree, he turned me to look in the direction of the camp's property line. I gasped. "I had a good feeling you might like this."

"Perry!" I exclaimed. There he was, standing in the forest as confused as ever. I ran over to him and enveloped him in an enormous hug. When I turned to thank Hades, he was gone. "Thank you…"

"I-I'm so confused…" Perry murmured. "A-am I dreaming? Can you dream when you're dead? Phineas, did you die, too?!"

"No, no!" I cried, happier than I could have ever expressed. "We're alive, we're both alive! You're alive! My dad is too gracious…"

Perry didn't seem to know what to do about this, but I didn't care. I had my pal back, and that was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me. He let me continue to hug and hug him. Tears streamed down my face. I'd started out this journey wondering who my other parent was, alongside other parent-less kids. Now that I knew who my father was, I couldn't be happier. Our long fear of who the other parents were was now gone, and it was replaced by something so much better.

"So, I'm really alive?" Perry asked me. I nodded.

"Welcome home, son of Athena," I smiled. He returned the smile. This summer really was the best summer ever.

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**~The End~ **


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